More than 6 million Russian tourists are expected to rest in Turkey in 2019

“More than 6 million Russian tourists will be hosted by Turkey in 2019, the flow of tourists will increase compared to last year,” told the Culture and Tourism Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Russia, Jelal Kilic. 

"Last year, 6 million Russians visited Turkey. We expect that this year the figure will be slightly higher," he said. 

At the same time, according to him, the prices of tour packages to Turkey for Russians will remain approximately at the level of 2018. “We do not observe a significant increase in prices for tour packages and flights. There are offers of any price category,” said Kilic. 

The Ambassador of Turkey to the Russian Federation, Mehmet Samsar, said that the preferences of the Russians during holidays in Turkey have changed in recent years. "Russian tourists began to visit Turkey not only for the beach, but also for cultural and recreational rest. Interest in Cappadocia, Izmir, Istanbul, as well as the beaches of Dalaman and Bodrum has increased," he said. 

Samsar added that annually about 35-40 million foreign tourists visit Turkey, and the country has a great potential to increase tourist traffic. “Even if 600 thousand more tourists arrive in 2019, it will be a good growth,” he noted. 

As previously reported, in 2018, Turkey was visited by 39.5 million foreign tourists, which is 21.8% more compared to 2017. At the end of last year, 5.965 million tourist arrivals were recorded from Russia, which is 26.5% more than a year earlier. Russia is on the first position in the number of tourists in Turkey, its share is 15.1%.