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Turkey opened for Russian travellers
Turkey is back on the Russian market after the Russian President signed a decree allowing travel agencies to sell packaged to Turkey again this July. The ban on selling tours to Turkey was introduced in December 2015 after Turkey downed a Russian airplane. In May 2016 Turkey, which was previously the leading tourism destinations in Russia, recorded a 10-fold decrease in tourists from Russia due to Russia’s ban on selling travel packages to Turkey.
Since the removal of the travel ban, interest in Turkish packages has increased by 40% compared to the previous week, according to metasearch platform Yandex Travel. Charter flights from Russia to Turkey, are being further delayed due to the recent attempted ‘coup’ by the Turkish military and the severe crack-down by the ruling party once it appeared the coup had failed. Thousands of people from judges to teachers are being arrested and Turkey appears to have an unstable immediate future which will not help tourism, and this may affect tourism flows from Russia for some time to come.
Greece offers Russians long-term Schengen visas
Greece has started to offer Russians long-term Schengen visas to Russians who have already made at least one trip to the European Union. Russia’s can apply for multiple-entry visas valid for 3 or 5 years. The introduction of multiple entry aims to increase the number of Russian tourists travelling to Greece, as an alternative to Turkey and to keep them coming to Greece in the coming years. According to the Russian Tour Operators Association 10,000 Russian tourists travelled to Greece in March 2016, an increase of 523% from March 2015.
Tenerife receives 40% more Russian tourists in April 2016
In 2015 Tenerife received 63,400 Russian tourists a decrease of 53% compared to 2014. However, the trend is becoming more positive and in April 2016 Tenerife saw an increase of 40% of Russian travellers. Around 42% of the Russian travellers to Tenerife are repeat visitors. The key tourist segments are: couples - 39% or couples with families - 22%. Tenerife tends to attract active Russian travellers, with over 57% of them wishing combine their beach holiday with sightseeing, visiting national parks or going to themed parks.
Hungary received over 20,000 Russian tourists in Q1 2016
In the first quarter of 2016 26,658 Russian tourists visited Hungary, accounting for 107,228 overnight stays. Russian tourists are in 1st place in terms of the average length of stay in Hungary, with an average of 4.5 nights compared to global average stay of 2.5 nights. Russian stay longer at Hungarian spa resorts, with an average stay of 7.5 nights which is almost twice as long as the average from other international markets.
Russia in top 5 for household spend on travel
Visa Inc. released the results of a new study that forecasts a significant increase in international travel by household over the next decade. The study, which was conducted in collaboration with Oxford Economics, analysed projected spend by country and region. The chart below shows the top 10 countries based on estimated spend on global travel in 2025. Russian households with earnings above $20,000 annually, are expected to increase their travel spend by 118% by 2025.
(Source: Visa Inc., 2016)
Russian Outbound Tourism Statistics Declined by 10% in Q1 of 2016
The Rosstat outbound tourism statistics for the 1st quarter of 2016 showed an overall decline of 10% compared to 2015. Although the negative trend remains, the decline is less dramatic than in 2015 when the decline reached 30% during the same period. Traditionally Russians travel during the Russian New year period for a 2nd holiday which has obviously been affected by the down turn in the economic situation. Winter holidays are either to ski resorts or to warm, winter destination. Destinations such as Thailand, Georgia, Vietnam and Spain have however seen a positive increase in numbers during the first quarter, due to the ban on travel packages to Egypt and increasing popularity of ski destinations such as Georgia. The recovery of Thailand is one of the most significant, increasing by 13% while Finland, a traditional winter skiing destination was down by 18%.
Outbound tourism statistics, 1st quarter 2016
|
|
Q1 2015 |
Q1 2016 |
% Change |
|
Finland |
705 |
576 |
-18% |
|
Kazakhstan |
607 |
501 |
-17% |
|
Estonia |
321 |
319 |
-1% |
|
Thailand |
250 |
283 |
13% |
|
Poland |
275 |
259 |
-6% |
|
Germany |
251 |
215 |
-14% |
|
Lithuania |
142 |
135 |
-5% |
|
UAE |
142 |
134 |
-6% |
|
Italy |
137 |
131 |
-4% |
|
Azerbaijan |
104 |
106 |
2% |
|
Georgia |
83 |
106 |
28% |
|
Vietnam |
88 |
91 |
3% |
|
Spain |
85 |
89 |
5% |
|
France |
82 |
76 |
-7% |
|
Latvia |
63 |
66 |
5% |
|
Czech Rep. |
73 |
64 |
-12% |
|
Turkey |
147 |
64 |
-56% |
|
Israel |
69 |
61 |
-12% |
|
Other |
2,300 |
2,085 |
-9% |
|
TOTAL |
5,924 |
5,361 |
-10% |