Middle East - Russian Travel Digest

04.03.2019

Russia and UAE ease visa restrictions for tourists

Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an intergovernmental agreement on mutual abolition of visas for their citizens for short tourist travels, Regnum reported.

UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation announced that starting on Sunday, UAE citizens…

04.03.2019

Tourist flow from Russia to Israel increased by 56% in January

Russian tourist flow to Israel in January shows impressive growth. Compared to other foreign holidaymakers, the Russians more often return to Israel. In 2019, the Russian audience had even more reasons to come to this country.

The first month of 2019 turned out to be successful for Israeli…

20.02.2019

Russian tourist flow to Israel exceeded 380 thousand people in 2018

Russia continues to be one of the main source markets for Israel. In 2018, in terms of the total number of tourists in Israel, Russia became the second, ahead of France and behind only the United States. Last year, Israel spent about $ 6 million to promote its resorts in Russia.

As Ksenia…

21.01.2019

Tours to Bahrain are cheaper than in Turkey

Tour packages to Bahrain for the second half of January are cheaper than air tickets. So, you may rest a week at the resort of this island state of the Persian Gulf for 30 thousand Rubles (390 Euros) for two persons (departure from Moscow on January 18, a 3* hotel, BB). At the same time, air tickets…

14.01.2019

Sales of Coral Travel in Abu Dhabi increased by 120% thanks to charters

For January - October 2018 the number of tourists from Russia to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (UAE) amounted to 41 thousand people, which is 37% more than during the same period last year. In the Emirate, this is mainly connected with the direct charter programs of Coral Travel tour operator from Moscow…

06.01.2019

Russian tourist visits to Dubai up 60% in 2018

Around 460,000 holidaymakers from Russia have visited Dubai in the first nine months of 2018, a 60% increase compared to the same period last year, the emirate’s tourism authority has said. An increase in Russian overnight guests was the result of 19% growth in air capacity across non-stop flights, as…

24.12.2018

Rosaviatsiya issued permission for "Ural Airlines" to flight from Zhukovsky on 11 routs

Rosaviatsiya issued permission for Ural Airlines to flight to a number of new destinations from Zhukovsky - the airport near Moscow. It follows from the order of the department, published on its website. In particular, the airline received an admission to perform daily flights from Zhukovsky to London,…

19.12.2018

Pegasus tour operator will stop the flight program in Oman

Pegasus tour operator will stop the flight program in Oman from 7 January. This was reported by the head of the company, Anna Podgornaya. She did not comment on the reasons for the decision, only stating that there are several of them. Recall that NordWind flights from Moscow to Salalah have been opened…

18.12.2018

Tour operators: demand for Israel has increased by 10-15%

An active sales season has started on Israeli destination: according to tour operators, the demand for holidays in this country has been showing stability for several years, and some players are registering an increase of 10–15%. According to the press service of Intourist tour operator, at the moment…

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…