The analysis of three quarters of the Russian tourist traffic to 4 exotic island destinations of the Indian Ocean - Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Mauritius were announced. Some of them showed a drop in tourist flow from the Russian Federation, others - growth.
In total, 108,475 Russian tourists visited the Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Mauritius from January to September 2018. The leaders are the Maldives and Sri Lanka – the islands also show the growth of tourist traffic from Russia. On the Seychelles and Mauritius the Russian tourist flow is declining.
The Maldives
According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Maldives, for the first 9 months of 2018, 51,082 tourists from Russia visited Maldives. This is 20.3% more than last year.
As a result, the Maldives are leading among all exotic islands of the Indian Ocean, both in absolute numbers of tourist arrivals from Russia and by the dynamics of annual growth.
According to tour operators, the Maldives has its own audience, which is growing. The premium segment was practically not damaged during the crisis, but tourists from this segment are attracted here from other destinations, such as the Seychelles or Mauritius, by more advantageous price and the availability of a direct flight of Aeroflot airline.
However, this is not the main factor of growth. This year the Maldives could attract about 2000 tourists from other directions of the Indian Ocean, but the number of tourists from Russia increased by 9 thousand tourists. Earlier the tour operators noted the fact that the Maldives are becoming more popular.
Sri Lanka
According to statistics from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, over the same period of 2018 (January-September) 42,053 Russian tourists arrived on the island, which is 12.4% more than last year.
The flow of tourists from Russia is growing on Sri Lanka for the second year. This year, its growth rate is almost three times higher, although in absolute volumes, Russia is not yet among the key source markets for the country.
It is noted, that a robust increase was achieved mainly over the winter months of the beginning of the year, and in September the increase was 4.5%.
The growth of the direction is also connected with direct charter flights to the island, which reduce the cost of the final price of the tour. Recall that in the winter season 2018-19, tour operators have launched to Sri Lanka more direct charters than last year.
The flight programs of two tour operators -ANEX Tour and Coral Travel - started in late October.
The Seychelles
According to the information, for the period January-September, 8,390 tourists arrived from Russia to the Seychelles. This is 16% less than for the same period last year (when 10,035 tourists from the Russian Federation arrived on the islands).
Nevertheless, according to the results of three quarters, Russia is in the TOP-10 of key source markets for the Seychelles with the 8-th position, behind Switzerland.
It should be noted that the fall of the Russian tourist flow to the Seychelles continues all the year 2018. On the one hand, the Maldives draw over some number of holidaymakers, on the other hand, the Russian tourists lack both convenient transportation and an assortment of ground accommodation.
Mauritius
According to the latest data from the National Statistical System of Mauritius, in January-September 2018, the number of tourists from Russia fell by 9.5% compared with the same period in 2017. Only 6950 tourists from the Russian Federation arrived here from the beginning of the year (against 7678 a year earlier).
Among the key source markets in Mauritius Russia fell from the 19-th to the 23-rd place. The decline in tourist traffic in September was 29%.
The weak promotion of the destination in Russia, the lack of direct air service and, of course, the “Maldivian factor” play the role in the decreasing of the tourist traffic to this exotic island.
