MOSCOW, December 01, (ITAR-TASS). Russian tourists vacationing in Thailand are unwilling to interrupt their vacations and return home because of the current mass protests in Bagkok, executive director of the Russian Association of Travel Operator Maya Lomidze told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
“There are no complaints from tourists vacationing in Thailand, including in Bangkok,” she said. “As for cancellation of trips, several dozens of people have cancelled their Thai vacations over the past week. It will be possible to say how the Russian travel market has reacted to the aggravation of the situation in Bangkok only on Monday evening.”
She called on Russians who are staying in Thailand to be prudent enough to avoid places where rallies are held. “If a tourist is hurt by protesters, of course, he or she will be offered medical assistance under the insurance policy but no additional compensations from the insurer will be granted,” she warned. “However, a tourist has the right to apply to court to claim additional compensations.”
Meanwhile, press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Irina Tyurina confirmed that Russians who were staying in Bangkok felt quite safe.
“This is not the first time when Russian travel companies have to deal with political disorders in this country, so they have some experience of work in the ‘rebellious capital,’” she said. “Judging from the previous experience, I can say that riots mostly take place in Bangkok’s administrative districts, leaving aside tourist centres. Receiving companies just changes bus routes to bypass riot-ridden streets on their ways to excursions.”
She noted that Russians mostly opted for sea resorts in Thailand. “”If tourists fly to Bangkok, they stay in the city for one or two nights to see the places of interest and then head for sea resorts,” she noted. “In disquiet periods, travel operators used to send tourists to their vacationing destinations immediately upon arrival and postponed excursions in Bangkok till the last day of the trip hoping that the situation would normalize in a couple of weeks.