A multiple change in the demand for tourists for the summer was recorded by Russian tour operators. We are talking about the UAE, which cost tourists 15-20% cheaper than Türkiye. And apparently, many tourists choose the UAE as an alternative to Turkey, which has risen sharply in price. At least, Izvestia gives such an assessment from market experts.
Moreover, while prices are rising in Turkey, previously more expensive destinations, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and even the Maldives, while Turkey continues to lose ground due to inflated prices, air travel problems and political uncertainty.
Although Turkey tops the list of popular destinations for Russian tourists by a wide margin, the demand for trips to this country has recently dipped, Artur Muradyan, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) and head of the Spase Travel tour operator, told Izvestia. Political uncertainty has also been added to high prices – the second round of elections may lead to the fact that low demand will last until the end of May. Recall that the elections are scheduled for May 28. But the main reason is, of course, the price. “Demand also slows down the volatility of the ruble: everyone is waiting for the moment when it stabilizes in order to start buying tours. After all, you don’t want to buy a trip for 75 thousand rubles, and in two weeks to find out that it has fallen in price to 70 thousand. Currency fluctuations always stop sales,” said Artur Muradyan.
As a result, the demand for Turkey's competitors “resurrected”, among them the United Arab Emirates, the countries of South and Southeast Asia. Moreover, the cost of holidays in the UAE, Thailand, Sri Lanka and even the Maldives is now comparable to Turkey, Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, added to Izvestia. “We achieved prices comparable to Turkey in these countries due to an increase in air transportation compared to last year, as well as due to the traditional reduction in prices by the Emirates and Asian countries for the low season,” he said.
In his turn, Artur Muradyan presented it in figures. According to him, hotels in the UAE are now completely cheaper than Turkish ones by 15–20%. You can spend a week in a four-star hotel with breakfast in June for an average of 100-120 thousand rubles. As a result, tourists vote in rubles and sales of tours in the UAE have increased many times over – the expert predicts that the Emirates will eventually set a record for tourist flow from Russia. At least pre-pandemic indicators, demand has definitely exceeded. While Türkiye has not reached the pre-pandemic level of 6.9 million. At the same time, Turkish optimists are counting on at least 6 million Russian tourists, the forecast of pessimists from the tourist market was once 4 million.
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