Middle East - Russian Travel Digest

10.12.2018

New Year's flights to the Emirates are sold by half

Demand for tours to the UAE, which noticeably intensified last year, when visa formalities were abolished for Russian tourists, continues this year. However, if the UAE last winter showed the most robust growth (53.7% in 2017 compared to the previous year), there are fears that this winter will not be…

29.11.2018

By 2023 more than 2 million Russian tourists are waited in the UAE

Russia will remain one of the leading source markets for the UAE, as well as for other countries of the Persian Gulf. And by 2023 the Russian market will grow by 125% from 933,000 in 2018 to 2.1 million. As a result, Russian tourists will be able to “provide” another 2.9 million additional hotel rooms.…

20.11.2018

ETIHAD LAUNCHES NEW BRAND PLATFORM: ‘CHOOSE WELL’

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has launched a new brand platform: ‘Choose Well’. The airline’s new customer proposition is an invitation for all to make choices about how they travel and to journey on their own terms. It is also a validation that Etihad’s customers, partners, guests…

08.11.2018

About 400 thousand of Russian tourists will visit Israel in 2018

“In 2018 Israel is waiting for about 400 thousand Russian tourists. As a result of the first 9 months of 2018, 272 thousand Russian tourists visited Israel”, reported Ksenia Kobyakova, the head of the department of Israeli Ministry of Tourism in the Russian Federation and the CIS. According to her, these…

24.10.2018

Russian visitors to GCC to increase 125% by 2023

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the GCC is expected to increase 125% from 933,000 in 2018 to 2.1 million in 2023, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2019, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 April – 1 May 2019. The latest research published by Colliers…

22.10.2018

The number of charters to Jordan this winter will be increased

In the winter season 2018-2019 the volume of traffic will increase on the Jordanian direction. Tour operators hope that the expansion of transportation will lead to an increase in demand. The several charter chains will be launched at once this season from Moscow to Aqaba (the Red Sea) and Amman (the…

12.10.2018

PEGAS Touristik opens Oman

The PEGAS Touristik’s charter program to Oman starts from October 15 (arrival airport is Salalah International Airport). The flights on the wings of Nordwind and Pegas Fly airlines (B737-800, 189 economy seats) are scheduled until May 3, 2019 (3 flights per month). According to PEGAS Touristik, the…

11.10.2018

Bahrain became interesting for Russians

According to the Tourism Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Russia, from January to June 2018, the incoming tourist flow to Bahrain increased by 5.8% compared to the previous year. Bahrain was visited by 5.9 million tourists. The Russian tourist flow grew by 13.2% and amounted up to 11,298 people.…

10.10.2018

Oman is waiting for twice as many tourists from Russia

During the first five months of this year 6,000 Russians visited Oman. This is almost 2 thousand more than for the entire 2017 - when the country was visited by 4,200 of Russian travelers. By the end of the year the Sultanate expects to increase the tourist flow by 2 times. Such statistics were published…

08.10.2018

In the winter season Qatar will be one of the alternatives for the UAE in the Middle East

“In the winter season Qatar can become an alternative for the United Arab Emirates which are popular among Russian tourists. Since September 17, Intourist tour operator is offering Russian passengers package tours to Doha by regular flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg”, - reported press - service…

25.09.2018

Tour operators increase transportation to UAE

On September 4, tour operators announced about the expansion of flight programs to UAE for upcoming winter season. So, ANEX Tour will perform charter flights to Dubai from 20 cities of Russia (including Moscow) instead of 16. The company also intends to increase the frequency of flights from the capital…

24.09.2018

The Russian tourist flow to Dubai breaks records

“For the first half of 2018 the Emirate hosted 405 thousand Russians, which is 74% higher than for the same period of the last year” - said Issam Kazim, The General manager of Dubai Tourism and Commercial Marketing Corporation during a press conference in Moscow. The top manager noted that for the first…

20.09.2018

Coral Travel will launch charters to Bahrain in winter season

Coral Travel tour operator will launch a charter program to Bahrain from the end of October. Olga Zakharova, the Leading Specialist of the Coral Travel department recalled that the flight program from Moscow to Bahrain (the airport of arrival is Manama) will be performed by Ural Airlines. The flights…

17.09.2018

Tour operators predict an increase of tourist traffic to UAE in the winter season

According to the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai (DTCM), in the first six months of this year 405,000 Russian tourists visited Dubai, which is 74% more than in the same period of the last year. This is the most significant growth among incoming markets in Dubai.…

17.09.2018

Intourist has opened sales of tours to Qatar

The tour operator offers both package tours on the basis of daily scheduled flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Doha. The first flights started on September 15. As the Executive Director of Intourist tour operator Sergey Tolchin said, the decision to enter the Qatari direction is caused by the…

15.08.2018

Emirates will launch the third flight to Domodedovo

Emirates Airline has announced the launch of the third daily flight from Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) to Dubai since October 25, 2018. Emirates has been flying to Russia since July 1, 2003 and already carries out two daily flights from Domodedovo by Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER, as well as daily…

17.07.2018

Emirates will launch the third daily flight to Moscow from the end of October

“Emirates airline will launch the third daily flight from Dubai to Moscow on October 25, 2018”, - reported the carrier's press service. The flight will be performed by Boeing 777-300ER with a three-class configuration (8 seats in the first class, 42 in business class and 310 in economy class). The flight…

11.07.2018

Pobeda Airlines plans to fly to the UAE

Low-cost Pobeda airline requested permission for daily scheduled flights on the route Moscow - Sharjah. This follows from the materials of the interagency commission on admissions. As Director General of Space Travel Arthur Muradyan believes, if the carrier's application is satisfied, the tour operators…

04.07.2018

Israel: the results of tourists flow from Russia for January-April

“The Russian tourist flow to Israel for January-April 2018 amounted 116.2 thousand people, which is 6% more than in the same period of the last year”, - said the Head of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in Russia and CIS Ksenia Kobyakova. "The tourist flow from Russia shows stable growth: from January…

03.07.2018

Israel will stimulate the Russian tourist flow to Eilat in the upcoming winter season

According to the results of the first four months of 2018, the number of Russian tourists in Israel reached 116 200 people, which is 6% more than in the same period of the last year. Israel expects the continued growth of tourist traffic from Russia in upcoming winter season, especially in Eilat. According…