Vietnam could steal Russian tourists

07 Sep 2012  2046 | World Travel News

Thailand risks losing the fast-growing Russian tourist traffic to Vietnam if it does not develop Russian-speaking tourism personnel soon.

Kubilay Atac, the managing director of Pegas Touristik (Thailand), the country's biggest inbound tour agent for Russian visitors, said Thailand is facing a shortage of tour guides who know the Russian language.

It is estimated that only 2% of people in the tourism industry can speak Russian compared with 70% in Vietnam.

That country is seriously developing its travel industry including promoting tourist destinations among Russians.

"Thailand should be realistic and understand what tourists want, not what you want to offer them. In fact, the Russian tourist market can grow more for Thailand but Thai people should understand their nature," said Mr Atac.

The number of Russian visitors to Thailand has grown considerably in recent years, as their favourite destinations in the Middle East are facing political problems.

"Russian tourists love sun and beaches, but it would be better if Thailand could offer services with understanding," said Mr Atac.

The Russian tourist market is fast growing. Last year, Russian tourist arrivals grew by 62% to 1 million for revenue of 60 billion baht.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand forecast that the figure will increase by 15% to 1.15 million this year.

In this year's first quarter, their arrivals rose by 16.7% year-on-year to 463,919. The average length of stay is 13 days, with spending per head per day at 4,269 baht.

Last year, Russian outbound tourists totalled 13 million.

Russia is on track to outgrow countries in the EU this year.

This shows the Russian tourist market remains optimistic. That's why many countries in the region want to grab business opportunities over there.

Vietnam expects to greet 300,000 Russians in 2014, up from 100,000 last year.

Several tourism operators in Vietnam will attend the Tourism Fair Leisure Moscow 2012 to be held from Sept 19-22.

The full liberalisation of Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 will lead to high competition in the tourism industry. However, tourism operators need to cooperate more to create a sustainable tourism trend and incorporate more technology.

Pisit Ratanachetkul, the managing director of Billion Destination Co, said Thai operators must look for business partners and find the uniqueness of their products and a clear market position.

"Collaboration will mean we have the bargaining power to attract European tourists. We have to move forward about cooperation, not competition," he said.

Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, the president of Bangkok Airways, said the AEC will create more air traffic among Asean countries, with a wider market base and increase opportunities to expand business for the whole region.

"However, increased competition will cause some airlines to lose market share and workforce," he said.

Sourced: bangkokpost

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