Resorts From the Maldives to Cuba Miss Their Russian Tourists
Still hurting from pandemic lockdowns, vacation spots were counting on the big-spending visitors until the Ukraine invasion stalled travel.
The beach area of MerPerle Hon Tam Resort in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on March 25.
Photographer: Maika Elan/Bloomberg
Nha Trang, a beach-blessed resort town on Vietnam’s east coast, is often dubbed by travel blogs as “Little Russia”—a tribute to high-spending Russians who used to splurge on vodka and borscht while staying in premium properties overlooking the warm sea. A few weeks ago, staff at the picturesque MerPerle Hon Tam Resort were in full swing, preparing to welcome more Russians in March after receiving virtually no foreign travelers for the past two years because of pandemic restrictions.
“Then the war came,” says Tran Bao Doan, the resort’s general manager.