Europe - Russian Travel Digest

10.06.2016

Moldova’s new air carrier Fly One to launch regular air service with Russia from June

Moldova’s new air carrier, Fly One, plans to launch regular air service with Russia’s Moscow, St. Petersburg and Voronezh, and with a number of European cities from June, the company’s director general, Nicu Berla, told a news conference on Monday. The new air carrier is ready to offer its clients nine…

19.05.2016

After 18 months of decline, arrivals from Russia to Estonia began to grow

In March 2016 the tourists’ flow, both of local and foreign tourists, has increased. The tourists’ flow from Russia to Estonia has increased the first time over the past year and a half, according to the country's Department of Statistics. Total in March 13 23 people from Russia came to Estonia. The…

04.05.2016

Czech Airlines launched flights from Prague to Kazan

The national airline of the Czech Republic, Czech Airlines, completed the first flight on the route Prague - Kazan - Prague, according to the press service of the Ministry of Transportation of Tatarstan. The company will perform two flights on Wednesdays and Sundays with departure from Prague at 22:05.…

07.04.2016

Aeroflot fully resumes flying to Brussels from April 8 — airline

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot will fully resume flights from Moscow to Brussels and back to Moscow from April 8, the airline said on its website on Thursday. The company said earlier flights SU2618 en route from Moscow to Brussels and SU2619 from Brussels will reopen on April 7, 2016. TASS reported earlier…

22.03.2016

Grozny Avia airline has opened flights from Kursk to Yerevan

On March 17, Grozny Avia airline started to operate flights from Kursk to Yerevan, according to the director of the international airport of Kursk Valery Stoyanov. Flights will be operated once a week until December 2016 on Yak-42D with a capacity of 100 people. Air company Grozny Avia was established…

21.03.2016

Travel time in Allegro trains decline by 9 minutes

From March 27, travel time in a high-speed train Allegro on the route St. Petersburg - Helsinki will be reduced by 9 minutes, according to the press service of the company "Russian Railways" (RZD). Thus, the travel time is 3 hours and 27 minutes. At present, the train overcomes the distance from St.…

14.03.2016

Georgia and Russia will discuss the possibility of increasing the number of flights between the two countries

Next week, Tbilisi expects the Russian delegation headed by the director of department of state policy in the field of Civil Aviation of Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation Svetlana Petrova, to discuss the possibility of increasing the frequency of flights between the two countries. "Probably,…

14.03.2016

Estonian party has proposed a 72-hour visa-free regime with Russia

In Estonia, the Council of the Party of National Unity (GNU) proposed to introduce a 72-hour visa-free regime with Russia. As the press-department of the party reported, it is essential to help revive the tourism sector, which has recently significant losses. As stated in a press release, Vice-Chairman…

11.03.2016

Finnish town Kotka proposed a 72-hour visa-free regime with Russia

Kotka Administration sent to the State Council of Finland a proposal to introduce a 72-hour visa-free regime for citizens of Russia. It is assumed that the effect of a visa-free regime will apply to Russian citizens, who arrive to Kotka on ferries. "This initiative should strengthen the development of…

09.03.2016

The flow of Russian tourists to Georgia has grown by almost 20% since the beginning of the year

In January - February 2016, Georgia was attended by 87,4 thousand Russian citizens, which is 18.8% more than in the same period of the last year, according to the analytical department of the Georgian Interior Ministry. In February, the number of Russians who visited Georgia has increased in comparison…

04.03.2016

Pobeda air company opened daily flights to Memmingen with transfer to Munich and Zurich

On March 3, low-cost airline Pobeda started to fly from Moscow to Memmingen (Memmingen-Allgäu airport, Germany) with the possibility of a transfer to Munich or Zurich. The flights will be operated daily. Passengers are provided with the opportunity to get directly to Munich city center (about an hour)…

01.03.2016

The tour operator TEZ Tour will offer Russian tourists tours to the Baltic States and Belarus

Tour operator TEZ Tour has added to its range of services the new destination Latvia, and by the beginning of the summer season also plans to offer tours to Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus, the press-service of the company reported According to TEZ Tour, the highest demand will be city tours in Riga,…

16.10.2015

Germanwings could replace Air Berlin for Berlin-Moscow route

German low-cost airline Germanwings could replace Air Berlin for the route Berlin-Moscow in the Domodedovo airport, the airport press service told TASS Thursday. "Currently, direct flights between Russia [Domodedovo airport — TASS] and Germany are carried out by several partner airlines of the Domodedovo…

02.10.2015

UTair to increase number of flights to Ukraine within 2 weeks

Russian airline UTair plans to increase the number of flights to Ukraine, its Chief Executive Officer Andrei Martirosov told TASS on Tuesday. "We’re now studying the issue and I cannot give details regarding dates and number of flights as the situation is changing very quickly," he said when answering…

02.10.2015

Low-cost air company Norwegian stop flights from Oslo to St. Petersburg

The low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle will stop flights from Oslo to the Pulkovo airport (St. Petersburg) in the autumn-winter season 2015-2016, the commercial director of Northern Capital Gateway (who controls Pulkovo) Eugene Ilyin said to the reporters on Friday. "It is rather incomprehensible…

30.09.2015

Russian tour operators refused of charter trains to Lapland due to low demand

In winter, Russian tour operators will not organize charter trains to Santa Claus's home in Rovaniemi, the press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Irina Tyurina reported. She explained that on winter holidays, tourists can get a regular train or plane. Before tour operator DSBW Tours…

28.09.2015

Russian tourist flow to Belarus in 2015 decreased by 10%

The flow of Russian tourists to Belarus in the current year decreased by 10% compared with 2014, the Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism Michael Taylor said at a press conference in Minsk on Friday. "The flow of Russians dropped by about 10%. This is also reflected in the export of tourism services,"…

25.09.2015

The first week after introduction of biometrics for Schengen visas went smoothly

Transition to a new system of issuing Schengen visas for Russian citizens, including the biometric data, passed without major disruptions,according to the poll of representatives of tourism industry, made by Interfax. Since September 14, 2015, the Russians are obliged to take fingerprints and a digital…

24.08.2015

The number of Russian tourists in hotels in Latvia has decreased by almost 40%

In the second quarter of 2015, the number of visitors from Russia in Latvian hotels decreased by 37%, according to the Central Statistical Bureau of the country (CSB). Meanwhile, the total number of international tourists accommodated in Latvian hotels in the same period, increased by 2.4% compared to…