Poon Tip’s intervention follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, where fighting continues to escalate, prompting fears of a refugee and humanitarian crisis in the country.
On Wednesday (2 March), G Adventures became the latest travel brand to confirm it had cancelled all its tours in Russia, with those booked on future departures set to be refunded.
"We will no longer accept Russian nationals residing inside Russia on our trips, nor will we take bookings from Russian agencies," said Poon Tip. "Unfortunately, these sanctions and forced global isolation will impact everyday people who may not agree with — and who may even be brave enough to protest — their country’s politics.
"However, these sanctions are essential in order to apply pressure on the entire country and to invoke change. There are many fine people in Russia who are now forced to become part of the solution."
Poon Tip said it remained his belief that travel can be "the fastest path to peace" and said that after two years of the Covid crisis, the world was on the precipice of an even more "dangerous chapter", one he said was "driven by the need to divide".
"It is unthinkable that we are faced with a scenario where a sovereign European nation has been invaded, unprovoked and without justified cause," he continued.
"I stand with Ukraine. I stand for freedom and democracy. We are living in dangerous times, where people are divided and looking for division and this just shows us we still have a long way to go. We owe it to future generations to do whatever we can to bridge these divides."
