BANGKOK, June 28. /TASS/. The number of Russian tourist arrivals in Thailand declined from 4,000-5,000 to 2,000 per day amid the slow season, the Bangkok Post newspaper said on Wednesday.

The developments in Russia will not affect sales in the tourist sector unless there is a serious weakening of the ruble, President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn said, quoted by the newspaper.

"The economic impact stemming from political uncertainties in Russia will definitely affect middle-income earners," the expert said. "However, those with high earning power are seeking long-stay trips overseas," he noted.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand directed its Moscow office "to closely monitor the situation and market movements in the short term," the newspaper informed.

There is no reason why the recent developments in Russia should affect the tourism sector in any way, Tez Tour general representative in Southeast Asia Andrey Snetkov told TASS. "My understanding is that such developments will not have any direct effect on the travel industry. We can speak about the ruble rate but such forecasts will be ephemeral because the national currency rate depends on many other factors," he said.

"It is absolutely normal for this time of year that the flow of Russian tourists to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, goes down as the slow season kicks off in the summer, characterized by higher temperatures, rains and humidity. The high season lasts from November to early April and weather conditions for holidays become much better upon its start, and tourist arrivals increase," Snetkov noted.

Russia is among the top three countries in terms of tourists visiting Thailand, with 784,428 arrivals year to date.