Tourist flow from Russia to Turkey increased by 79%

The number of Russians who visited Turkey in the first half of the year exceeded 2.6 million people, reported on the website of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). This is 79% more than in the same period last year and 3.5% less than in pre-COVID 2019.

“However, the main growth is due to short transit trips to Istanbul: Antalya’s share in total trips has fallen to 50%, and there the backlog from dock-like volumes is already minus 38%,” ATOR explained.

More than 1 million Russians managed to visit Istanbul in six months, which is three times higher than in 2019 and twice as high as in 2022. According to analysts, 70% of this tourist flow falls on short transit stops of Russians in the city on their way to third countries.

Antalya was visited during this period by 1.3 million Russians, which is 66.7% more than last year (785,623 tourists), but 38% less than in 2019 (2.1 million). According to the results of June, the tourist flow to Antalya amounted to 525,530 tourists from the Russian Federation, and to Istanbul – 171,936. As a result of rising prices, the share of Antalya in the total tourist flow of Russians to Turkey in June was 64%, and Istanbul – 20%. In June 2022, this ratio was 69.4% and 19.4%, and in June 2019 – 83.5% and 5%, ATOR recalled.

In early July, ATOR reported that Türkiye in the summer season of 2023 lost 35–40% of Russian tourists compared to 2019 due to high prices. The average ticket for a trip to Turkey in the summer of 2023 almost doubled compared to pre-Covid 2019. If earlier 10 nights cost around 50,000 – 60,000 rubles. per person on the tour, now the check has grown to 100,000 – 115,000 rubles. At the same time, tour operators note an increased demand for expensive hotels and individual transfers. Purchases of extended insurance policies have also become more frequent.