Russian tourists stranded on beaches as the fallout from war in Ukraine reaches Asia

Russian tourists stranded on beaches as the fallout from war in Ukraine reaches Asia

Thousands of Russian tourists have been stranded in beach resorts in south east Asia as flights home are cancelled and amid growing anxiety that the Ukrainian war will stymie the regional economy’s recovery from the pandemic. The Philippines, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand have recently reopened to vaccinated travellers and Indonesia and Vietnam are gearing up to welcome visitors back this month, aiming to revive a tourism industry that has been decimated by two years of border closures and Covid-19 restrictions. With lucrative Chinese tour groups still grounded under pandemic rules, expectations had fixated on the sizeable Russian market to fill the gap, but the invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in rising oil prices, flight bans and sanctions , has put a swift end to those hopes. “This is going to be a really uncertain period for an industry that simply wasn’t recovering yet. It’s certainly been a set back,” said Gary Bowerman, a travel analyst based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “South east Asia is right at the beginning of its reopening process, and it needs as many tourists as it can get, particularly without the Chinese market, that is the big overlay,” he said. “The overall outlook is a