On Wednesday afternoon (15^th), the President of the Business and Tourism Operators of Pattaya, Mr. Jamroon Wisawachaipan, revealed to a Pattaya People Reporter that the extradition of Viktor Bout, called the “Merchant of Death”, to America, would definitely create a downturn in tourism to Thailand, especially Pattaya, by Russians, due to the Russian Government’s disappointment with the Thai Government.

Half of the tourists coming to Thailand have been Russians, and Thailand is definitely facing some difficult years due to the decrease of Russian tourists, as the Russian government has started to deny visas to their citizens to visit Thailand.

The Thai Government has to do something to rebuild a good relationship with Russia before the tourism industry is damaged, as many tour operators will change their destinations to neighboring countries, and Thailand will lose an opportunity to rebuild its tourism sector.

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