According to the Russian Central Bank, Russia has come out of the sharpest phase of the economic crisis. They believe the capital flow from the country has stopped and foreign investors are returning to Russian stocks. The Bank's Deputy Chairman Alexey Ulyukaev says the Russian economy may get a further boost from interest rate cuts, which can start already from the second quarter due to the improving inflationary situation.
In Spring 2009 Argentina, Columbia and Venezuela are to become new visa-free destinations for Russian travellers. Among other visa-free destinations in the region are Peru, Brazil and Ecuador and the increasingly popular Cuba and the Dominican Republic, which are both popular for MICE and for leisure.
In an effort to attract more Russian tourists, Cyprus is opening 3 more consulates in the Russian regions: in Yekaterinburg, Samara and Krasnodar. Greece is also expanding by the regions, opening new visa centers in Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and potentially in Rostov-on-Don.
Despite the drop of demand for outbound travel, more countries consider the Russian market as very important and are opening their National Tourism Boards' offices. At the MITT exhibition in March, Visit Sweden announced its plans to open their own office in Moscow by the end of 2009. In January 2009 Morocco opened its Tourism Office in Moscow, and the Dominican Republic is planning to open one due to a substantial growth of traffic from Russia - by 85% in 2008.