ONYX Hospitality Group, a leading management company for hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, luxury residences, restaurants and spas across Asia-Pacific, is strengthening its focus on the Russia and CIS travel market following a successful September sales mission across Moscow, St. Petersburg and, for the first time, Minsk in Belarus.
The multi-city mission comes as demand for Thailand from Russia continues to perform strongly, while new air connectivity from Belarus is set to create further opportunities for leisure travel to Bangkok and Phuket.
During the September 2026 sales mission, ONYX Hospitality Group met with key travel trade partners through a series of networking breakfasts and targeted sales visits in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk. Discussions focused on current demand for Thailand, opportunities across ONYX’s portfolio of hotels and resorts, and strengthening commercial relationships with tour operators and travel partners across the region.
The addition of Minsk to the programme marked ONYX Hospitality Group’s first sales mission to Belarus and reflects the Group’s strategy of developing relationships within emerging source markets alongside its established presence in Russia.
The timing is particularly significant as Belavia – Belarusian Airlines prepares to introduce regular services connecting Minsk with Bangkok and Phuket, providing greater direct access between Belarus and two of Thailand’s key tourism destinations.
From late October 2026, Belavia – Belarusian Airlines is set to transition its successful charter programme to regular scheduled, non-stop services from Minsk to Bangkok and Phuket, further strengthening direct connectivity between Belarus and Thailand. According to Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) figures, the Belarusian market is showing strong growth, with annual arrivals to Thailand surpassing 20,000 and expectations that the market could exceed 36,000 visitors, highlighting its increasing potential as an emerging source market for Thailand’s tourism industry.
Russia already represents an important source market for ONYX Hospitality Group, ranking among the Group’s top five international markets. Business from Russia has grown by approximately 13% year-on-year, underlining the continued appetite for Thailand and creating further opportunities for ONYX and its travel trade partners.
The sales mission also generated interest among Belarusian travel partners in future familiarisation trips to Thailand. These would provide travel professionals with first-hand experience of ONYX Hospitality Group properties, helping to build destination and product knowledge as accessibility between the two markets improves.
Five ONYX Hospitality Group properties participated in the mission: Amari Phuket, OZO Chaweng Samui, Oriental Residence Bangkok, Amari Pattaya and OZO North Pattaya. Together, the participating hotels showcased a diverse Thailand portfolio spanning Bangkok, Koh Samui and Pattaya, with accommodation and experiences suited to a range of leisure travellers.
The mission forms part of ONYX Hospitality Group’s wider international sales strategy, combining continued investment in established source markets with targeted development of markets demonstrating new growth potential.
As Thailand continues to attract strong interest from Russia and the wider CIS region, ONYX Hospitality Group will build on the relationships established during the September mission, working closely with travel trade partners to identify new commercial opportunities, increase product awareness and capitalise on improving regional connectivity.
The Group’s expanding engagement across Russia and the CIS also supports its wider ambition to strengthen the international reach of its Thailand portfolio and drive sustainable long-term growth through a diverse mix of global source markets.
