Tourism sector eyes record high number of Russians

ISTANBUL

Turkey will attract a record high number of Russian tourists this year with a significant increase from last year, when 4.7 million Russian travelers flocked to the country, the Hotel Association of Turkey (TÜROB) has predicted.

However, in a statement on April 12, TÜROB underlined a dramatic decline in spending by Russian tourists compared to previous years.

In the wake of normalization in bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia after a diplomatic crisis in 2015, a record high number of

Russian tourists visited Turkey last year and made Turkey the top tourism market for Russians, with a 12.7 percent of share in the total, according to the statement.

Early booking data has shown that more than 20 percent of the year-on-year increase would be seen in the number of Russian arrivals to Turkey this year, TÜROB said on April 12.

According to Skyscanner data, Russians’ demand for Istanbul flight tickets rose 102 percent for the period between April 30 and May 9 compared to the same period of 2017.

“2017 was the year when Turkey hosted the highest number of Russian tourists in its history. But there was a dramatic decline in their spending per capita. While Russians spent $800 in 2013 per capita, their spending was $609 last year,” TÜROB President Timur Bayındır said, adding that 2019 has been announced as “culture and tourism year” between the two countries.

“This should be seen a key opportunity to raise our share and achieve more diversification in the Russian market,” Bayındır said.