Russian billionaire’s superyacht Samui visit spurs hope of wealthy tourists
The arrival of a few mega billionaires to the tourist island of Koh Samui and surrounding islands has sparked hope that Thailand will begin to see a rise in wealthy travellers again. Perhaps now that Covid-19 restrictions are finally mostly lifted, several luxury superyacht vessels have been spotted arriving on the shores of Samui.
Most notably, Alexander Alexandrovich Svetakov, a Russian property developer worth billions, was seen arriving at Koh Samui aboard his Cloudbreak superyacht. The 54 year old Russian man is the chairman of the Absolut Group and is ranked number 881 on the list of the world’s most wealthy people this year. He is a very successful property developer, controlling more property than almost anyone in Moscow with most of his land falling in the New Moscow area, a region where Moscow expanded over the last decade with unprecedented growth.
Now he is on holiday after sailing from Singapore to Koh Samui on his 3.9 billion baht giant vessel. The superyacht sailed with 12 passengers and six crew on board, leaving Singapore on July 1. To be safe with Covid restrictions, a group of officials from immigration, customs, port security control, communicable disease control, and the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre all boarded the ship to screen all the passengers aboard.
Svetakov has sailed the Cloudbreak superyacht around the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao attracting a lot of attention from people ashore spotting the giant ship visiting. The governor of Surat Thani, where the popular tourist islands are located, said that visible holidays like this from billionaire travellers show the potential for high-end luxury tourism throughout Surat Thani. Tourism and government officials hope it will spur many more wealthy travellers to visit these tropical destinations.
Media reports mentioned another unnamed British billionaire investor that also sailed his superyacht into the waters off the coast of Koh Samui to enjoy a holiday. The high-profile wealthy tourists prompted government officials to speak optimistically about attracting more rich travellers to stimulate tourism and the massive economy it brings.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
