Market News

UAE is going to be a hot spot for the Russians this winter. Pegas Touristik, one of the largest TO in Russia, will have charters to Sharjah from 16 Russian cities, in addition to two daily flights from Moscow to Dubai. Another leading TO, Anex Tour, will also have daily flights to Dubai from Moscow and St-Petersburg, as well as a new, twice weekly flight from Rostov. Experts predict a price wars between the leading TO's for this destination. However, traffic to the UAE from Russia shows a good increase, with around 50% more Russians visiting Dubai this year and 30% more to Abu Dhabi. In absolute figures, 197,000 Russians travelled to Dubai during January-June 2012.

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27% more Russians visited Cyprus during the first half of 2012. In absolute figures, 166,000 Russians chose the destination for their holidays, with most of them booking 4-5* hotels. The island is also popular for luxury real estate purchases.

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Bulgaria also had a successful summer with a predicted growth rate of 30%, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism. In 2011, 450,000 Russians visited Bulgaria, this is expected to rise to  600,000 in 2012. Other important source markets such as Germany, UK and Scandinavia, are only expected to grow by up to 5%, making Russia Bulgaria's fastest growing market.

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Finland received a 20% from Russian visitors during 6 months of 2012, a total of 358,000 visitors which accounts for 28% of all international arrivals to Finland. Russia is now the largest source market for Finland, followed by Sweden (10%), Germany (9%) and the UK (5%). Finland is a year round destination for Russia and according to Visit Finland, 80% of Russians come from St-Petersburg, and 40% of them come for a day visit only, many visit Laperante for shopping, as it is located near to the Russian border.

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In the winter season of 2012-2013, tourists from St-Petersburg will have several new options, as group of tour operators will charter a flight from Rossiya airlines to Hainan (China).  Pegas Touristik will offer charters from St-Petersburg Cancun, Mexico, and Agadir in Morocco.

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As of September, Switzerland has opened 15 new visa centers across Russia. The centers will be in all the key cities, from Moscow to Vladivostok. During January-July 2012, over 100,000 Russians visited Switzerland, according to the National Tourism Board. In terms of overnight stays, Russian market shows a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2011, with 310,000 overnights stays.

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Moscow's new Hop On/Hop Off double-deckers are now travelling the streets of Moscow, with a sightseeing tour of approx. one hour, depending on the famous Moscow traffic jams. The tour has 18 stops and costs 15 Euros (600 RUB).