Russians book overseas tours for the May holidays, mostly to Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the UAE. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) Artur Muradyan told socialbites.ca about this. He noted that excursion prices now “bite” from 140 thousand rubles, but you can find a budget option.
“The same destinations remain traditionally popular during the May holidays. To these is added only the full-fledged beach of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates ends, here the active phase of the winter season, Thailand, Egypt, Sri Lanka are completed. If we talk about demand, it can already be considered as steadily high for the May holidays. This is also due to the start of school holidays in some schools with a modular education system and the traditional start of the summer holiday season, which usually falls in the first ten days of May. If we talk about where it is cheapest to go, the assessment needs to be made right now, because just like in the Emirates, you can find a budget option in Egypt and Sri Lanka. “But the average price tag for May holidays still seems quite high, around 140 thousand rubles,” he said.
Muradyan also said that the pilot project in Sri Lanka to provide free visas to citizens of seven countries, including Russia, played a positive role in increasing the demand for this destination. According to him, tour prices to the island are expected to decrease in the summer months.
“The project had a positive outcome. Let’s not forget that the visa to such countries is often an additional indirect tax, and the issuance of such permit visas allows the country to generate direct revenue for its budget. With all this, there is no talk of an extension yet, but it was supposed to be extended only in the summer, thus stimulating the flow “But we already see that some Russian operators have announced the extension of flight schedules to Sri Lanka in the summer. According to their forecasts and our feelings, demand in this direction will remain at a high level. You must understand that in the summer prices will probably drop – after all, this is a season, but not yet 15% of current values “There is an increasing change in the form of holidays; they are becoming more and more family-friendly due to the availability of direct transport,” he explained.
Last fall, the Sri Lankan Cabinet announced that it would begin issuing free visas to citizens of Russia, India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan; Passengers from the above countries simply had to apply for an e-visa before arrival. Tourists were allowed to stay in the country for 30 days. In March, it became known that island officials were not considering extending the program; The program will end on March 31.
It was previously known how much price increased Summer vacation abroad for Russians in 2024.