After receiving 2.7 million Russian visitors in 2009 (which was only a 6% drop compared to the year before), Turkey aims to attract 3 million Russian visitors in 2010, according to the Turkish NTO in Moscow. The target seems realistic due to the increase in no. of charter flights to Turkey from the Russian regional cities, with Pegas Touristik aiming for a 70% increase by arranging charter flights from 47 cities. Sunrise Tour announced its plans to double its volumes for Turkey in 2010. Also, Turkey has just removed visas for Russian travelers.
3 of the TOP 10 Russian tour Operators start selling Spain in 2010 summer season: Lanta Tour Voyage, Coral Travel and Pegas Touristik. Lanta, which until now was only offering only Barcelona (as part of cruise programs), is going to develop Spain as a mass market destination, sending up to 600 pax weekly in the peak season. Unlike Lanta, Coral will have their own charter flights to Spain, aiming at 1400-1500 seats per week for the beginning of summer. Pegas announced charters to Barcelona from Moscow and 7 regional cities, including St-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, etc. Coral aims to send between 450- 650 PAX per week from Moscow and up to 1,450 PAX from the Russian regions. The "veterans" of the market - Tez Tour, VKO (now a part of TUI) and Vremia Tours - are expecting the Spanish market to be even more competitive this summer than ever.
Crete, which is a popular summer resort destination for Russians, will be aggressively promoted by 2 leading TO's selling Greece, namely, Biblio Globus and Muzenidis Travel. Both companies are planning 1,000 seats per week from Moscow during the peak season. Other market leaders, like Tez Tour and Pegas are planning to start selling Crete: Tez Tour plans to increase by 15% while Pegas plans to increase flights from the Russian regions. Muzenidis is also planning a 20-25% increase of sales to Greece.
TUI which has already acquired two Russian Tour operator companies, namely VKO Travel and Mostravel, as well as one company in Kiev (Voyage Kiev), is now planning to develop a network of up to 200 franchised travel agencies in Russia and Ukraine by the end of 2010. The group aims to have 10% of the Russian market by the end of 2010, focusing on the mass market sun and sea destinations. However, from 2010, Mostravel will drop Greece as a destination, focusing on Egypt, Turkey and Emirates, while VKO which offers Greece, will add Cyprus as a new destination, with the aim of sending up to 500 pax per week.
Italy will open new visa centers in the Russian regional cities of Krasnodar, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod. This is in addition to the Italian visa centers already established in Samara and Novosibirsk. According to ENIT (Italian National Tourism Board), the total amount of visas issued to the Russian tour operators in 2009, dropped by 25.4%, and the new offices should help to support demand in the Russian regions. According to ENIT, the Italian market in Russia is mainly led by 3 tour operators: Natalie Tours, Pac Group and Danko Travel, where they estimate their market shares increased by 5-7% each. Italy is also experiencing a growth of FIT travel to Italy from Russia.
Another country reporting a substantial growth of independent travelers booking their own trips online is Austria. According to Emanuel Lener, the Head of Austrian NTO in Moscow, 50% of visitors from Russia in 2009 travelled to Austria without using a travel agency. This is in contrast to previous tendencies when from 70-80% of all Russians travelled to Europe via a tour company.
The Netherlands is aiming to increase the number of Russian travelers to 200,000 visitors per year in 2010 according to the Marketing Director of the Netherlands Tourism Board Anuk Susan. In 2009 there was a 4%, and 100,000 Russians visited the country. To achieve this a half a million Euro budget has been allocated for marketing and advertising in Russia. The Netherlands has also opened a representative office in Russia, via a marketing company. Only 44% of Russian visitors to Holland are leisure tourists while 46% are business travelers.
Indonesia, is also taking the Russian market seriously and is planning to open their tourism office in Russia by April 2010, according to the Head of Marketing Dept of the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Samsul Lussa. He stated that Indonesia expects to receive up to 87,000 Russian visitors in 2010, compared to 66,000 in 2009.
Monaco also plans to increase its presence in the Russian market by opening an office via a marketing company.
Neva, one of Russia's Top 10 Tour Operators, reported a 10-15% increase of sales in January - February 2010 compared to 2009. During the summer of 2010, Neva plans to increase volumes to Greece and gain a stronger position in Bulgaria. It aims to increase its position in the Russian regions, by offering new programs from Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Kazan and Kaliningrad. However, according to Elena Sadkova, the Head of Neva Moscow branch, there will be strong competition for growth due to the strong competition from other market leaders such as Coral, Pegas and Tez Tour, all of whom are increasing their presence in all key regional markets.