Dear Subscriber,
With Moscow suffering from severe forest fires, more than 100,000 Moscovites tried to leave Russia during the first weekend of August on last minute tours. I was one of the lucky ones to board a plane that was not delayed (luckily it takes more than a forest fire to cause delays with Etihad). The Great Escape from Moscow’s heavily polluted air has only added to the already healthy increase in visitor numbers from Russia in 2010. Already recovering from the global economic crisis at a much faster pace than most of its European counterparts, Russia is likely to lead the recovery in travel both in terms of long haul and short haul destinations. We are looking forward to celebrating with you during Leisure, the leading autumn travel exhibition in Moscow from Sept 21 - 24th. Let me know if you would like to meet up.
Best regards,
Helene Lloyd
Director
TMI Consultancy
News Flash
According to the Egyptian tourism board, Egypt received almost a million and a half Russians during the first half of 2010.
Another destination that set a record in the Russian arrivals this year is Thailand.
86,000 Russians went to Cyprus during Jan-June 2010, a 40% increase on 2009 figures.
As reported by Finland's Statistic Service, Russia has now become the leading source market for Finland.
Hotel News
All the hotels and resorts in Russia will soon be required to go through an obligatory classification process.
By the end of 2010, Rezidor Hotel Group plans to open 2 new hotels in Sochi.
Ibis, part of the Accor hotel group, has announced plans to expand their presence in Russia and the CIS.
Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) is planning to launch 7 new properties in Ukraine and Russia by the end of 2012
Moscow has one of the lowest occupancy rates in Europe.
Aviation News
The national carrier Aeroflot will shortly start regular flights from Moscow to Tel Aviv in Israel.
The total number of airline passengers flying out of Russia during the first 4 months of 2010, increased by 40%.
Turkish Airlines has launched a regular flight from Istanbul to Sochi.
The national carrier Aeroflot will shortly start regular flights from Moscow to Tel Aviv in Israel.
As of June, the Greek charter airline Blue Bird started direct flights from Domodedovo airport in Moscow to Rhodes, Corfu, Iraklion and Thessaloniki.
In June, S7 Airlines started direct, regular weekly flight from Moscow to Rimini in Italy.
Market News
33% increase in the number of visas issued for the Moscow tour operators to Italy.
Albania is planning to open a tourism office in Russia.
The demand for travel to Croatia from Russia is estimated to increase by 23% by the end of 2010
Vladimir Vorobiev, the former President of Natalie Tours, has changed his position to focus on the development of Natalie's incoming DMC structure in Spain.
Feature
The Increase of Online Search and Bookings for Mass Tourism Destinations
The analysis of the leading Russian search engine Yandex of the demand for summer package tours in terms of internet search shows that Egypt and Turkey are still the most popular destinations for Russian tourists, followed by Greece.