Ukraine invasion: crashing Russian rouble, sanctions deal blow to Thailand bid to revive tourism

A plunging rouble, flight cancellations and money-transfer difficulties are prompting Russian and European tourists to cancel trips to Thailand, a blow to the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism-revival efforts.The exclusion of many Russian banks from the Swift payments network has resulted in tour operators running into problems when making transfers, according to Charintip Tiyaphorn, co-owner of Pimalai Resort & Spa in Phuket. Some flights have been cancelled following Russia’s invasion of…