Cyprus, Turkey and Thailand: Top holiday spots feeling fallout from Ukraine-Russian war

Russians are not the biggest holiday planners, says Mikhail Ilyin, a priest and tour business owner in Pattaya, Thailand. Where most Europeans might book a holiday one or two years in advance, Russian tourists tend to be more spontaneous.

It’s a generalisation of course, but trends like these feed into national and international travel forecasts. The Russian Federation was in the top 10 countries whose citizens spent the most abroad before the pandemic, according to Statista. Their favourite destinations - including Turkey, Thailand, and Cyprus - were no doubt looking forward to an influx of visitors come summer.

As with so many other aspects of life, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put paid to those hopes. Given Russians’ late booking habits, it’ll be a little while before the impact is felt in places like Pattaya, which has been called ‘the most Russian city in southeast Asia.’

We spoke to national tourist boards and those in Russian-dependent tourism sectors to get a clearer idea of how the conflict may impact travel this summer.

In our global world of holidaymaking, it’s not just networks of Russian and Ukrainian tourism that will be affected.

A stark message from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) warns that, “This is a major regional crisis with potentially disastrous implications the world over. Decisions made in the near future will impact the world order and global governance, and directly affect the lives of millions of people.”

The Russian people face an uncertain future too. And despite barriers to the west, they haven’t stopped travelling altogether. On 4 March, 8 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Thailand welcomed 454 Russian travellers. This is close to the daily average of 650 according to the Tourism