Experts explain why Türkiye, which has risen wildly in price, remains the leader in beach holidays

1200 flights weekly

This year, the demand for domestic tourism has grown to 20%, and there are more and more offers for travelers. However, people do not refuse foreign trips: Turkey is still the leader of Russian sympathies. Every week, 1,200 flights fly from Russia to Turkish resorts, and ticket prices to the popular Antalya start at 22,800 rubles. Experts told what to expect from the holiday season of 2023.

Domestic tourism is considered the most stable in terms of sales, however, Russians do not refuse to travel abroad – but, of course, with an eye on the exchange rate. Experts fix another trend: when it comes to outbound tourism, even those who previously organized their holidays on their own turn to the services of intermediaries (tour operators and travel agencies) – the number of clients of travel agencies has increased. There are several reasons for this: Russians face inconvenience abroad due to non-working bank cards, the complicated process of obtaining a visa, the inability to directly pay for a hotel, etc. It is much easier to shift all the worries onto the shoulders of a travel agent and pay him in rubles. In addition, as Sergey Agafonov, chairman of the committee of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry on travel agents, emphasized, if you buy a package tour in advance, you will be insured against a sharp increase in prices during exchange rate fluctuations – and, in the event of an emergency, organized tourists will be taken out of the country of rest much easier.

Türkiye remains the leader among foreign tourism destinations.

“Despite all the talk about the high cost, about the difficulties, Turkey is still number one in the outbound market,” said Yury Barzykin, Vice President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry.

This year, there has been a lot of talk about the rise in prices of Turkish resorts, but now the prices seem to have stabilized (certainly not compared to 2019!). For example, prices for a flight from Moscow to Antalya and back in July start from 22,800 rubles, to Alanya – from 36 thousand, and you can fly to Bodrum on the Aegean Sea and return for 27 thousand rubles. In addition, as Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, noted earlier, this year there are flights to Turkey from 18 cities of the Russian Federation. During the peak tourist season, in July and August, up to 1,200 flights are planned weekly. For comparison, a year ago there were about 700 flights.

A threefold increase in visits by Russian tourists to the United Arab Emirates is also recorded. More and more countries are lifting “covid” restrictions, for example, this year Russians have the opportunity to again freely enter Indonesia. It is planned to introduce a visa-free regime for visiting Iran and China.

As for domestic tourism, Crimea is still in the top 5 destinations and is trying to attract guests by lowering prices. True, the demand for travel there is now falling, and it is likely that even fewer people will visit the city this year than in the past, because. the region is considered unsettled. Moreover, getting there today is a problem: the airport in Simferopol is closed (as well as many others in the south of the Russian Federation), and you can only get there by land, train, car or bus. It’s longer and less comfortable.

Sergey Agafonov, Chairman of the Committee of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry on Travel Agents, noted that today in Russia in many places they are focusing on creating hotels for families with children – such that you can entertain yourself and your child: with various circles, sections and special meals. By the way, Turkey has traditionally attracted Russians with club hotels for family holidays, and now, perhaps, someone will make a choice in favor of resting at home.