Dear Subscriber,
Summer is here, but judging by the wet weather Moscow is experiencing, most Russians will still want to travel abroad to warmer climes, even if the economic situation is less stable than it has been since 2001. Mass market destinations have been more affected than destinations which attract more FIT travellers whilst countries like Turkey and other key summer destinations such as Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia and Cyprus are all fighting to keep their share of the Russian market. Tour operators selling Turkey are particularly aggressive in the larger cities of the Russian regions, offering prices which local companies find it impossible to compete with. As result, we are likely to see a large consolidation drive in the Russian travel market during 2009, as regional tour operators switch to becoming travel agents. The recently released outbound travel figures for the first quarter of 2009 show some a decrease in the total no. of travellers compared to 2008, long-haul, mass tourism destinations show the biggest declines, whilst niche destinations in Europe such have seen an increase in the number of the Russian visitors in 2009.
Best regards,
Helene Lloyd
Director
TMI Consultancy
News Flash
New Financial Bonding Law
On June 30, 2009 a new law was signed in Russia on financial guarantees for tour operators.
Russians Travel Despite the Economy
The Russian Public Opinion Research Center held a survey to find out how the current economic crisis has affected the holiday plans of Russians.
Changing Travel Habits
Many leading Russian tour operators note a growing tendency to combine sightseeing and seaside holiday, as a lot of people reduce the frequency of travel and can afford only one trip abroad per year.
Simplifying Visa Regimes
In order to stimulate the demand from the Russian market, some countries have decided to simplify their visa requirement for the Russian tourists.
Hotel News
New Hotels in Moscow & St-Petersburg
While some developers are freezing large projects in Russia, many others continue to expand into this constantly growing market.
Aviation News
More Low-Cost Carriers Come to Russia
As of June, 2009, the Spanish low-cost carrier Clickair started daily flights from St-Petersburg to Barcelona.
AA and Delta Flights Closing
In August 2009, American Airlines will reduce frequency of their flights.
S7 Joins Oneworld Alliance
One of the leading Russian airlines, S7 (formerly known as Sibir), will join the Oneworld Alliance in 2012.
Russian Airlines Loose Traffic
According to the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transportation, there was a decrease in airline traffic of 35% compared to 2008.
Market News
Leading Summer Destinations
The leading Russian publication for travel professionals, Goriachaya Liniya Tourisma (Tourism Hot Line), has published a chart of the most popular summer destinations.
Turkey
The director of Tez Tour Vladimir Kaganer said that the summer demand for Turkey from his company is down by 20-25% compared to this time last year.
Greece
Russian tour operators selling Greece note the demand for this destination is at a similar level as last year.
Spain
One of the leading Russian TO's for Spain Ascent Travel, reports a 15-20% decrease in demand compared to the summer 2008.
Regional news
Apart from the impact of the economic crisis, there is an even larger challenge to the regional tour operators in the key Russian cities which are far enough from Moscow, to work independently from the capital.
Feature
The Latest Russian outbound figure for 2009 (Jan - March)
As the Russian market is not homogenous, and the traveller profile vary from one region another, TMI Consultancy performed a consumer survey of 1500 respondents in 5 key Russian cities, including Moscow and St Petersburg in the European part of Russia and in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the key cities in the Russian Far East.
Economics
World Bank Forecasts for the rest of 2009
The most recent predictions from the World Bank show that the Russian economy is likely to contract by 8% in 2009 and unemployment could rise to 13% by the end of the year.