More than 4.8 million Russians spent their holidays abroad this summer

In the completed summer season, according to preliminary estimates of ATOR, about 4.8 million Russians went abroad, while about 14.5 million people spent their holidays inside the country.

From 94 to 98% of sales from mass tour operators came from just 10 countries. The top five are Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Abkhazia and Thailand. About 2.25 million people visited Turkey in June-August, excluding transit travelers (+7% compared to last year). According to the five largest tour operators in Turkey (Coral Travel, ANEX, PEGAS Touristik, FUN&SUN, Intourist TEZ Tour), the average bill for a summer tour to Turkey fluctuated in the range of 80-140,000 rubles. for 1 person with an average tour duration of 8-9 nights.

An increase in the cost of tours and a correction in the exchange rate of the Russian currency by almost 80% compared to last year led to a decrease in the flow of tourists to this country, says ATOR Vice President Dmitry Gorin. In the middle of the season, Turkish hotels began to offer significant discounts, incl. already for the autumn season, Maya Kotlyar, the founder of Mayel Travel, says. According to her, on the Aegean coast – Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, Ozdere and other hoteliers offer 15-20% discounts compared to summer until mid-October.

Turkey’s share in the sales of tour operators has decreased due to competition with other destinations. About 1 million people visited Abkhazia this summer (25% more than in 2022). According to Sergey Romashkin, Vice-President of ATOR, General Director of the tour operator Dolphin, Sergey Romashkin, out of 1 million Russian tourists this summer, about half were accommodated in hotels through tour operators, about 100,000 more visited the country with organized excursions, and 400,000 were independent tourists.

The UAE welcomed 600,000 Russians this summer, despite the country’s summer season being considered “low”, Gorin notes. This is more than even in pre-pandemic 2019. Gorin explains this by the “competent marketing policy” of the resorts. The flow of tourists to Egypt and Thailand also grew. In general, organized outbound tourism is showing good positive dynamics this year due to the fact that tour operators were able to cope with logistical difficulties, payment solutions, as well as package offers for tourists, including those in the EU countries, says Gorin. Thanks to this, the share of organized travelers has grown from the traditional 60% to 80%, sums up the vice president of ATOR.