Especially because of post-war sanctions, 75 countries do not accept Russians without a visa. For this reason, Turkey is the winter holiday choice of Russian tourists.
According to the “European Tourism Trends and Expectations” report, Turkey has achieved the most significant recovery in tourism after the pandemic. In fact, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy is revising the targets upwards; "We are revising our 2022 year-end target as 51.5 million visitors and 46 billion dollars revenue once again. Our targets for 2023 are much bigger. 60 million visitors and 56 billion dollars revenue," he said.
Until this year, the Russians were at the forefront of Turkey's tourism revenues. However, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the number of tourists coming to Antalya for summer vacation this year has decreased compared to this time of last year. Still, for example, according to October data this year, 4.6 million Russian tourists came to Turkey on vacation. In other words, the Russians are still important in our country's tourism despite the war.
Russian travel to Europe decreased by 95%
When we look at winter tourism, it seems that especially Russian ski lovers will go to Europe in winter for a holiday, and this year they will turn their route to Turkey. Because due to the war, EU countries and many world countries do not give visas to Russians. In fact, Maya Lomidze, President of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), made a statement on this subject. "According to the 2022 results, the tourist flow from Russia to Europe is 95 percent lower than last year and pre-pandemic 2019 levels," Lomidze said.
In this case, the route of Russian tourists who prefer Europe during the winter holidays can be turned to Turkey. Murat Saraçoğlu, President of TÜRSAB Marmara BTK on the subject, said that it has started to snow in Uludağ and they believe that this period will pass well. Stating that Russian tourists have visa problems due to the Ukraine war, Saraçoğlu stated that the reflection of this on tourism in Turkey is positive; "Tourists from Russia are not accepted to many countries in Europe and the world. Therefore, Russian tourists prefer Turkey," he said.
Russia Surprise to Winter Tourism Revenues
Considering that the tourist flow from Russia to Europe is 95 percent lower, this year, while Russian tourists turn to Turkey for their winter vacation or ski vacation, Turkey can make a significant contribution to the winter tourism figure.