Russians are heading towards Turkey.

Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Deputy Chairman of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation, stated, "Reservations are in very good condition in Russia and the CIS countries, just as they are in all of Turkey's markets."

The MITT Moscow, one of Russia's most important tourism fairs and a major market for Turkey, was held for the 26th time. At the fair, countries seeking to attract tourists from the Russian market conducted promotional and marketing activities. Alanya was represented by the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV). Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of ALTAV, shared his impressions of the fair and provided information about the meetings he held, stating that the fair held in Moscow, the capital of Russia, which has a population of 147 million according to 2018 data, is of great importance for the Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets. Last year, the fair hosted 22,777 tourism professionals from 90 countries.

“MARCH IS EXPERIENCING A SLOW PERIOD.”

Dahaoğlu stated that the number of Russian citizens traveling abroad increased by 6.2% in 2018 compared to the previous year. "The number of people coming to Turkey was 4,907,000, an increase of 24.4% compared to the previous year. In a meeting with Burcu Yörü, an official from Intour, we learned that reservation numbers have increased by 10% compared to last year, but that sales were somewhat slow in March. As in all markets, reservations are in very good condition in Russia." Anex Tour General Manager Vural Karasu also stated that they brought 1 million people from the CIS countries to Turkey last year, and that reservations are currently doing well.

'CORAL-ODEON TOUR: The Leader of the Market'

Coral-Odeon Tour, the market leader, transported a total of 1,524,704 people to Turkey in 2018, primarily from Russia, as well as from Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Albania. The company aims to maintain its leading position in 2019. Coral-Odeon Tour actively uses both Antalya and Gazipaşa Alanya Airport (GZP), and transports approximately 556,000 of these passengers specifically to Alanya. Of the Alanya passengers, 90,000 travel via GZP.

'LAST-MINUTE SALES ARE EXPECTED TO BE INTENSE.'

Dahaoğlu stated the following: "In general, when we speak with Russians, they express a desire to return to Turkey for vacations. There are some rumors circulating here regarding the economic crisis. The increase in prices compared to previous years is negatively affecting Russians. It is anticipated that there will be a surge in last-minute sales. However, regardless of these factors, the reservation numbers and the number of flights directed to our region indicate that 2019 will be a year for Antalya and Alanya, similar to the years when Russians were a major tourist demographic."