Phuket expects to welcome a million Russians this year. Some are dodging the draft, others buying property as a ticket to a new life.
www.thestar.com
May 2023
''The Thai island of Phuket expects to welcome one million Russians this year — the biggest group of foreign visitors by far — according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Some are escaping the dim of winter. Some are dodging the draft. Others are buying local property as a ticket to a new life.
But the influx of Russians, since the Thai foreign minister visited Moscow and direct flights resumed in October, is a conundrum for Phuket, which depends on tourism for 90 per cent of its economy and is still struggling to recover after the deadly 2004 tsunami and
COVID-19 travel bans. Although many Russian visitors are just terrified young men, there are tensions simmering between visiting Russians and other residents.
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“Russians in Phuket are known for their bad behaviour,” Stefan Zich, manager of a large hotel off the coast of Phuket, told the Star. Drunkenness, debauchery, violence and traffic accidents are rife in the “Russian-occupied” zones of the island, he alleged.
Nurses at the hospital in Patong, a popular Russian destination on the island, said they are seeing increasing numbers of people suffering from alcohol poisoning and involved in traffic accidents. Russians top the list of arrests in Phuket for crimes including theft, recklessness causing death and drug smuggling, according to provincial police reports in local media.
“My family and I are moving out of Phuket after five years, because we see and hear only Russians,” said one man on a Phuket news site. “Phuket is not Thailand anymore, but Russian territory,” he said.
The surge of Russian arrivals is putting pressure on the prices of real estate, motorbikes and cars on the island. Local schools have filled to capacity with Russian children, according to local media, as wealthier Russians acquire elite visas, which allow stays from five to 20 years for $25,000 and upwards. Almost all condo sales are to Russians, according to reports, and many are purchasing hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and other tourism-related businesses.''