Where to relax for the New Year: Buddhists will meet in Russian

The most popular tourist locations fight for domestic tourists

Due to geopolitical restrictions this year, for the first time in the history of Russian tourism, the New Year in Thailand, Goa and Sri Lanka began to cost the same for Russians. And in all three directions since November there are direct flights from the Russian Federation (before that, only Shri had a “trump card” of a direct flight). And now these resort oases have to fight for the right to entertain Russians on New Year’s Eve not with logistics and pricing, but with the expansion of the entertainment program.

We were curious about what they can do.

Before the pandemic, the resorts of Thailand, the Indian coastal state of Goa and the island of Sri Lanka, all other things being equal (the presence of tourist charters from the Russian Federation), differed significantly in their pricing policy: Goa was known as a budget destination, and ex-British Ceylon was a rather elite destination. Thailand, on the other hand, impressed with a rich palette of prices depending on the type of vacation: a chic hotel on the islands was even more expensive than the symbols of beautiful life in the Maldives and Seychelles, and a three-ruble note in the depths of a mainland town on the 3rd line from the beach could cost less than winter Turkey, even with the included in the cost of the flight. But in the face of the global crisis, all three oases of winter recreation became equal in their desire to lure the mass Russian tourist at any cost. After all, before during the New Year holidays, it was the Russians who made the main budget for the tourism industries of these countries.

– Prices have become equal, but the specificity has remained, – they emphasize in the capital’s travel agency specializing in Southeast Asia. – Prices are going down, including due to the expansion of the flight program. And the Russians, seeing that Tai has sunk to the level of Goa, immediately make a choice in his favor. In the subconscious of our tourist, it still sits that Tai is cooler than Goa. And this often leads to disappointment.

– But why?!

– Thai resorts are one of the most popular in the region. And the Thai tourism industry is the most agile. Everything was worked out there long before the Russians even began to travel en masse, and nothing is going to get cheaper just like that. Moreover, Thailand not only expects, but is already accepting mass arrivals of Europeans. So for the “Goan” price, do not expect from Thailand what you have seen there before, if you have already been.

We check with the Russian-speaking employees of the Thai tourism industry: is it possible to trust the quality of Thai hotels in terms of photos and the number of stars?

– The Thai “four” can be on the coast with its own beach, swimming pool and water park, or maybe on the tourist promenade next to the “red light district”, where at night you won’t be able to sleep from the music and screams of the walkers, and you will have to go to the beach on tuktuk, – on condition of anonymity, a Russian woman working in the Pattaya travel agency admits. – Despite the fact that from the window you will have the promised “view of the sea.” The question is exactly where. When choosing a hotel in Thai resorts, you need to know their specifics very well. Before that, decide on your own priorities.

– What is it like?

– What is more important for you in terms of the New Year’s tour: exactly the celebration – festivities, parties, shows? Or peace and quiet? It is clear that both in Thailand and in Goa with Sri the ocean will be somewhere nearby, but everywhere is different. For example, not everyone knows that on Thai Koh Samui it is not yet the season for the New Year, there will still be a rainy season. But at the same time it is warm, you can walk under an umbrella, enjoying the absence of people (until February there are almost no tourists there). And Pattaya, known to the layman as a “fashionable resort”, is actually a very dirty town in places with unpleasant odors due to the recent rainy season and the peculiarities of the local sewage system. We have good hotels, but they must be chosen very carefully. Well, the celebration of the New Year. “Gala dinner” in different hotels can be called a variety of events. And it is in expensive hotels that this is a two-hour dinner, starting at 19.00 with live music. After two hours, dessert – and that’s it, then walk yourself if you want. And it costs an average of $200.

There have never been festivities specifically from December 31 to January 1 in these countries: the New Year in the countries of Southeast Asia comes in the spring, only in Indian Goa they also celebrate Catholic Christmas, but not New Year’s Eve. But this time, according to the Russians who are already in Thailand, Goa and Sri, the Russian New Year will come there for the first time.

– Sheks (cafe-shacks) buy champagne from us and intend to cut Olivier, – Russian winterers from Goa report. – Previously, they did not go for this, although we asked – the tradition is the same. But the locals resisted: Buddha, they say, forbade it. And now, apparently, allowed.

In Sri Lankan resorts, according to compatriots, they also plan to put traditional Russian dishes on the table, find champagne and even release costumed Santa Clauses and Snow Maidens in the “roof-top-party” mode (popular parties on the roofs here). Although the Sri Lankans are usually very obedient Buddhists who do not allow anything like this, and there is a crisis in the country. But still Tai surpassed everyone: on New Year’s Eve, they promise to release easily accessible Snow Maidens on his streets of “red light districts” especially for guests from Russia. They say that this year the Buddha decided so. Apparently, he is for us, for Russian tourists.