Greece felt the absence of Russian tourists, but was able to compensate in many respects. This was stated in an interview with RIA Novosti by the managing director of the tour operator Tez Tour Greece Dimitris Haritidis. He also named the main countries whose tourists have replaced the Russians in the resorts of Greece – I must say, these are incomparable markets in terms of scale. In addition, the expert told how the Russians still get to Greece and how much it costs organized tourists.
The lack of Russian tourists is experienced hard – the expert noted, although the tourism business in Greece compensated for the absence of Russian tourists by vacationers from other countries. “Russian tourists are some of the best, I always say that. They are interested in the history of the country, go on excursions, go to taverns, go shopping. Despite the fact that hoteliers compensated for the absence of Russians, it was the market — local producers, local taverns — that felt this absence strongly,” the expert explained.
At the same time, the scale of substitute countries with Russian ones is still not similar. Among them, according to the expert, mainly Romania, as well as the Balkan countries, the Baltic states and Kazakhstan. He drew attention to the fact that Russia was not among the main suppliers of tourists to the market in previous years – in the last pre-Covid 2019, 800 thousand tourists from Russia arrived in the country, while Greece received 30 million tourists in total.
However, some Russian tourists in Greece are not ready to change. According to Mr. Haritidis, there is a “transfer” program “Pegasus” through Antalya to Heraklion, also individually, tourists get through Armenia, Turkey and Serbia, as well as routes through the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt. At the same time, the expert noted that only a flight can cost 600-700 euros per person, and a weekly vacation will cost 700-800 euros in a four-star hotel. “So for two it will cost about two thousand euros, since these are not charters,” he said. At the same time, on average, the tour package increased in price solely due to the flight, he added. He also warned tourists that Greek visas are not so easy to give. “They are issued, but for the duration of the trip, and it takes more days to receive. Therefore, we need to implement tours early. Previously, it was possible to sell at the last moment, because you knew that a visa was issued in three or even two working days, now it is risky to apply even in seven working days,” he clarified.
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