Europe Sun & Beach - Russian Travel Digest

10.08.2016

Charter flights to Turkey may resume in 7 days after lifting restrictions — tour operators

First charter flights to Turkey may start not earlier than a week after lifting restrictions, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said in a statement on Wednesday. "Lifting restrictions from charter flight to Turkey requires a relevant government decree," ATOR said. "Preparation of the…

08.08.2016

Erdogan: Turkey takes necessary steps to ensure tourists' safety

Ankara is taking all necessary steps to ensure safety for tourists, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with First Deputy Director General of TASS, Mikhail Gusman, ahead of his visit to Russia. "At the moment, there are no problems in Turkey, especially in the tourist areas. We…

05.08.2016

Ankara promises to Moscow to follow its tourist safety requirements — Presidential aide

Turkey has issued written guarantees it will painstakingly follow all of Russia’s recommendations regarding measures to guarantee the safety of Russian vacationers, Russian presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, has told the media. Also, Turkey agreed to receive a group of Russian specialists to discuss the…

01.08.2016

Travel agencies say Turkey steadily winning back Russian tourists

Russians’ enthusiasm in travelling to Turkey is gradually increasing, the press service for the Association of Tour Operators in Russia (ATOR) reported on Monday. "Despite the country’s unfolding developments, Russians’ demand for Turkey is growing," the press office said in a statement on the ATOR website.…

22.07.2016

Restrictions on regular flights between Russia and Turkey are lifted as of July 22

Russia is lifting all restrictions on regular flights to Turkey as of July 22, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) said in a telegram sent to air companies and tourism operators. "Attention! The heads of air companies and airports. In view of the fact that the Turkish side has provided guarantees…

22.07.2016

Tour operators to resume sending tourists to Turkey on July 23

Russian tourist operators will start sending tourists to Turkey on June 23, Maya Lomidze, the executive director of the Russian Association of Tour Operators, told TASS. "Biblio Globus is opening its flight program as of July 23. So, the first tourists will fly as of that moment," she added. She did…

18.07.2016

Russian tourists to be evacuated from Turkey by July 28 — leading tour authority

Plans are underway to pull out Russian tourists from Turkey by July 28, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, or ATOR, Dmitry Gorin told Life Internet portal. "All of them are currently returning as planned," he said. "We will finish transporting passengers, who were due to leave…

17.07.2016

First flight from Istanbul after coup attempt landed in Moscow

A Turkish Airlines’ jet departed from Istanbul landed in Moscow. "This is the first flight from Turkey that landed in Moscow after the coup attempt," Customer Service of Vnukovo Airport told TASS on Sunday. Flight TK419 departed from Istanbul at 01.38 Moscow Time, according to Flight Radar web-portal…

08.07.2016

Proposals on flights resumption to Turkey should be presented in one week — Russian PM

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked interested authorities to submit proposals on recommencement of charter flights between Turkey and Russia within a week, press service of the Government said on Friday. "The premier instructed ministries of transport, culture and foreign affairs to present…

08.07.2016

Russia will shortly resume charter flights to Turkey — watchdog

Russia’s cabinet of ministers is addressing the issue of resuming charter flights to Turkey, Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Oleg Safonov said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel Friday, adding that flights may be resumed shortly. "The government is addressing the issue. I…

06.07.2016

No mass flow of Russian tourists to Turkey expected — tourism agency

The flow of Russian tourists to Turkey will not be massive, as this country should do a lot to regain Russians’ trust, Sergei Korneyev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), has said. "I do not forecast the mass flow," he told reporters in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. "Turkey…

04.07.2016

Prices for tours to Turkey to decrease after charter flights launched — tour operators

The average cost of travel packages to Turkey may go down by 20-30% after charter flights from Russia to the country are launched, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said Monday. "According to preliminary estimates current prices will decrease by 20-30%," she…

04.07.2016

Russian tourists not concerned about security at Turkish resorts — tour operators

Turkey has not yet provided guarantees that vacationing in this country is safe, but Russians are not afraid of this, Maya Lomidze, the Executive Director of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), told reporters on Monday. "The security situation in Turkey raises questions," she said. "So…

01.07.2016

Moscow urges Russians to consider terror risks in Turkey trips planning

Russia’s Foreign Ministry urges Russians to consider high terrorist threat risks in Turkey as they are planning their trips to that country, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. "I would like to emphasize that amid the persisting risk related to possible terrorist threats, it…

30.06.2016

Putin cancels ban on charter flights between Russia, Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday instructed the government to take measures to cancel the ban on charter flights between the Russian Federation and the Turkish Republic. A relevant instruction is contained in the amendments signed by the president to the decree "On measures to ensure the…

30.06.2016

Russia’s tourism agency starts restoring cooperation with Turkey

Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency (Rosturizm) said Thursday it has launched the process to restore cooperation with Turkey in the sphere of tourism. "The ban on sales of tours to Turkey has been lifted. The Federal Tourism Agency is currently conducting work to restore cooperation with the Turkish Republic…

28.06.2016

Russia-EU dialogue on easing visa procedures underway — diplomat

Visa dialogue with the European Union has not yet been resumed although Russia is successfully working in this area with a number of EU countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said on Tuesday. According to the Russian diplomat, a number of European Union countries, which are interested…

14.06.2016

Russia, Greece sign agreement to expand travel exchanges

Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency (Rostourism) and Greece’s Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism have signed an agreement envisaging a program of joint actions to promote tourist exchanges in 2016-2018. According to a Rostourism press statement released on Monday, the key goal of the agreement…

18.05.2016

Bulgaria will issue visas to Russians within two days

Bulgaria will reduce the visa issuing procedure for Russian tourists to 48 hours, on Friday the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), citing the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria, reported. "In particular, for the implementation of the rapid processing of visa procedures for citizens of the Russian…