The strong depreciation of the ruble hit Russian tourists going to Turkey and Egypt hard. The Turkish edition Turizm Guncel anxiously quotes the estimates of Russian experts from the tourist market, stating that these countries will suffer the main losses in terms of tourist flow.
First of all, the publication quotes the assessment of ATOR experts, who reported that the cost of tours abroad has already rose by 7%. According to the vice-president of the Association, the general director of the tour operator Space Travel Artur Muradyan stressed that changes in exchange rates affect all foreign destinations. However, the countries where package tours are sold in large quantities will suffer the most – first of all, these are Turkey and Egypt.
“The increase in the exchange rate will become an additional difficulty for tourists, especially from the regions. Most tourists are familiar with such prices in more expensive destinations – like Sri Lanka and the Dominican Republic. Tourists expect cheaper tours from Turkey and Egypt,” he explained.
Mr. Muradyan also noted that the cost of tours abroad increased by 50% over the past year. “The ruble lost 6% in one week and 60% last year. Of course, this affected the cost of the tourist product, because everything is regulated at the rate. Prices would have been even higher if tour operators had not reduced the nominal cost of tours in dollars and euros. Now these efforts, unfortunately, have been in vain with the depreciation of the ruble,” he stressed.
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