France counts on a million Russian tourists

According to expert forecasts, by the end of 2019, the Russian tourist flow to France will grow by at least 10% in annual terms. Tour operators note greater dynamics of sales in one of the most popular European destinations among Russians.

As Inessa Korotkova, the director of the representative office of the French Tourism Agency in Russia, reported the number of Russian arrivals in France in 2019 will approach one million. At the end of 2018, about 900 thousand arrivals from the Russian Federation were recorded, which is 12% higher than in 2017.

“We hope that by the end of 2019, the Russian market will maintain its positive dynamics and show a growth of at least 10%. The increase in the number of Russian tourists is primarily due to the growth of direct transportation. So, this year Ural Airlines has launched flights to Bordeaux and Montpellier, Aeroflot flew to Paris and increased the number of flights to Nice. In 2020, S7 also announced plans to start flights to Paris. If this happens, this trend will further expand the possibilities for Russian tourists to travel to France,” Ms. Korotkova said in an interview.

Tour operators, summing up the preliminary results of the year in the French destination, note sales growth from 15% to 100% in the summer. Market participants also connect this dynamics with an increase in the number of direct flights, as well as with a stable Euro exchange rate, which allows Russians to book tours to Europe with more confidence.

“The regions of the country became more affordable due to the fact that direct flights fly from Russia to Montpellier, Bordeaux, Lyon, the flight program to Nice has expanded and the flow from Paris was distributed to other cities,” Pac Group says.