Reader Talkback Results: How much will the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine affect Thailand?

The following is our exclusive weekly feature in which we ask our readers a news topical question and then give you a week to answer it on our various channels, compiling a diverse range of answers and opinions to present to you, our valued readers. Here are the results from our last question…

Last week, we asked you the following:

Reader Talkback Thailand: How much will the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine affect Thailand?

Some context around this question:

 

Clearly, some effect is already being seen with Russian tourists, Thailand’s number one demographic since reopening in November, essentially cleared or clearing out. But, how long will this last? What other problems and issues will arise? Thailand is highly reliant on Russia for pesticides and fertilizer used in agriculture (but not oil and gas compared to many other countries). 

  So far, Thailand media has been more concerned with the death of Thai actress “Dtangmo” under questionable circumstances several weeks ago versus the war, with little Thai news coverage of it. Covid is also still a larger story. Will this change? What are YOUR thoughts?

Here is what you, our readers, had to say as our editors selected some of the most diverse responses to highlight different points of view. Obviously, we can’t post everyone’s opinion here so selected a variety of the most diverse opinions. As always, the opinions and statements below are the reader’s own and may not reflect those of TPN media. There have been minor edits for spelling and grammar only:

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John D-Side notes My Thai girlfriend asked me about the conflict in Ukraine after day 12, apparently the actress’s death as sad as it is, makes news every day all day.

It’s not just tourist dollars Thailand will lose, it’s exports, cars and parts, rubber, electronic parts, fruits cereal.

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Pascal S-To report on war as an independent and impartial medium is probably one of the most impossible things imaginable. In the latest headline war, the Europeans and the Americans are overwhelmed by very one-sided reports and are consequently influenced accordingly. At the moment – and probably also in the future – reports are only ever given from one side of the very complex ethnic groups and those affected by this conflict, who have many previous histories. For obvious reasons, the other sides of the conflict are not being heard and are reluctantly given credence. And if there is reporting by other parties, it is immediately suppressed by Western governments and the media, or simply not published.
So maybe it’s better to cover a watermelon’s story than a conflict?

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Pascal S (Part 2) -I think and I hope it doesn’t shake Thailand very badly. Thanks to the diverse sources of supply, energy prices are not strongly influenced and therefore tend to have less of an impact on the national economy. It will likely cause an increase in certain foods over the course of the year, but certainly not all. Air travel to and from Europe and of course Russia will probably become more expensive. Holiday trips in Europe will be more expensive. Life, in general, will become more expensive in Europe, and there will therefore be fewer holiday funds. This in turn will bring fewer European tourists to Thailand. So even if the current Covid restrictions were to be lifted, budget-conscious Europeans will rarely visit Thailand. However, this is delaying the local economic recovery here.

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Alex J-1.5 million Russians + 100K Ukrainians in 2019. This will yield a massive revenue loss in 2022 as I’m sure both nations combined will be absent this year. This is on top of an already hurting Thai economy.

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Allen P-It will affect Russians in Thailand because the Ruble is toilet paper and who is going to change rubles for another currency and Visa ceased operations in Russia so Russians probably don’t have the use of their Visa cards in Thailand. Trapped in Thailand with no money

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David V-I find it funny that the only people I hear complain about ruble are some western foreigners. By the way, it’s going up already for 1 week. Russian people are used to a lot tougher devaluations so it’s just nothing special, for westerners’ tragedy. The main problem is payment infrastructure, they are implementing Chinese Unionpay fast and it will be used all over Asia and worldwide

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Kevin V-Maybe Thailand should open up before they end up broke

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John D-No kids in pushchairs at 1 am in the walking street?

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Ryse- You can already see the impact in Jomtien and many small vendors like beach chair vendors, Thai restaurants, street cart vendors, hotels, even convenience stores, are being impacted. Russians DO spend money, although not at red-light bars, which is what it seems many westerners reading the local news know. It’s a sad situation for many.

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Caleb- Russia was the number one country visiting prior to the war. It will have large impacts, but more so in Phuket than Pattaya.

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Didn’t get a chance to chime in? Tell us on our social media channels, in the comments below, or if you prefer your comment to be private mail us at Pattayanewseditor@gmail.com. Have a safe week and see you soon!

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Adam Judd
Mr. Adam Judd is the Co-owner of TPN Media since December 2017. He is originally from Washington D.C., America, but has also lived in Dallas, Sarasota, and Portsmouth. His background is in retail sales, HR, and operations management, and has written about news and Thailand for many years. He has lived in Pattaya for over nine years as a full-time resident, is well known locally and been visiting the country as a regular visitor for over a decade. His full contact information, including office contact information, can be found on our Contact Us page below. Stories please e-mail Editor@ThePattayanews.com About Us: https://thepattayanews.com/about-us/ Contact Us: https://thepattayanews.com/contact-us/