In an interview with Izvestia, Rostourism head Oleg Safonov discussed changing tourist preferences, the growth of inbound tourism, how to avoid travel hassles, and the best places to celebrate New Year's in Russia.
Oleg Safonov noted that large numbers of tourists often come to Russia to celebrate the New Year from China, France, the UK, Germany, Spain, and countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Tourists from India also come to Russia. The flow of tourists from non-CIS countries increased by 131,000,000, mainly due to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
When asked how popular Crimea is now, the head of Rostourism responded that this year, Crimea entered the top five most popular tourist destinations for the New Year holidays. Thanks to the opening of the bridge, the peninsula has become much more popular, attracting far more tourists than before. For example, as of early December, 6.6 million people had visited Crimea.
If tourists are planning to travel long distances for the New Year holidays, the head of Rostourism recommended that they pay attention to the current situation in certain countries and, of course, refrain from visiting those countries where there is a threat to the lives and health of Russian tourists.
Responding to a question about the impact of the Salisbury scandal on tourist flow to the UK, the head of Rostourism noted that interest in the destination among Russian tourists has increased.
"We don't have data specifically for Salisbury, but the outbound flow to the UK for the first three quarters of 2018 decreased by 111% compared to the same period last year. I suspect that, given the anti-Russian activities of the UK authorities, our citizens have become more cautious about traveling to the UK," said Oleg Safonov.
Source: trn-news.ru