SINGAPORE, 27 April 2023: Turkey, UAE, and Thailand are becoming more important tourist destinations for Russian travellers, while classic European destinations such as Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and Greece have seen a significant decrease.
The impact of sanctions on Russians, travel restrictions and the fall of the ruble have combined to drastically reduce the number of travellers and change the destinations Russians visit for holidays.
Mabrian, a leading travel intelligence provider, released a study on the new travel trends in the Russian market on 24 April, confirming that Turkey was the destination that gained the biggest influx of Russian tourists in 2022.
The study is based on an analysis of the hotel demand by Russian travellers and the average hotel room price in more than 700 destinations worldwide during 2022, compared with 2019 trends.
Mabrian used its travel intelligence platform to analyse more than 2 million reviews posted by Russians and the published hotel prices in the main OTA’s (Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor) over two years.
Tourist destinations in the Middle East and Asia are gaining importance, especially Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand.
As for closer proximity tourism, Georgia, Armenia, and Kazakhstan have become among the top 20 preferred destinations for Russians in 2022.
Meanwhile, the classic European tourist destinations, including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and Greece, have had the most significant negative impact based on the current situation, showing a drastic decrease in Russian tourists.
Important factors that affected those tourist destinations include the impact of sanctions on Russians, the difficulties travelling from Russia to Europe due to the EU and UK visa restrictions and the ban on direct flights between Russia and Europe. The fall of the value of the ruble during the summer of 2022 is another relevant factor to be considered – especially considering that the average hotel price in Italy is, on average 46% higher than the average price in Turkey.
Mabrian director of marketing and sales Carlos Cendra said: “As one of the largest source markets for international tourism over the last 20 years, the Russian market plays a crucial role in the global travel industry, and in recent times it has become essential for destinations and companies to understand their evolving trends and preferences.
“Our study shows the current situation has deeply impacted the Russian travel market, and there is a changing profile indicating tourists are exploring destinations in the Middle East, Asia, and neighbouring countries.”
