Outgoing tourist flow from Russia slowed decrease

According to the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia, the total outbound tourist flow from the Russian Federation over three quarters of 2018 increased on a year-on-year basis by 6.45%, and the number of trips to foreign countries - by 7.34%. A number of destinations showed robust growth rates. According to the results of three quarters of 2018, for the period from January to September 2018 the Russians made 34,855,313 trips to foreign countries. This is 6.45% more than indicators for the same period in 2017. But the growth rates, however, as expected earlier, were lower than last year’s ones. Recall that the increase in the number of Russian trips abroad in the first three quarters of 2017 amounted 24.14% compared to the same period of 2016. This year the growth rate of tourist flow dropped by more than 4 times. As for the previous years, the outbound flow to foreign countries (including the Baltic States, but excluding the countries of the former Soviet Union, Abkhazia and South Ossetia) accounted over two thirds (68.62%) of the total number of Russian trips abroad. Accordingly, a number of trips to the neighboring countries accounted 31,38%. Last year, according to the results of three quarters, this ratio was almost the same (68.04% - far abroad and 31.96% - neighboring countries). A significant decline in growth rates is explained primarily by a combination of three main factors: the effect of low base (2016 was a failure for outbound tourism), the lack of growth in real disposable incomes of the population in 2018 and a serious weakening of the ruble exchange rate since spring 2018. The undisputed leader in the number of departures, in the overall rating and in the ranking of foreign destinations for the first three quarters of 2018, as well as last year, is Turkey - 5,053,594 trips. The share of this country in the total number of Russian trips abroad is 14.5. According to the data of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia, the TOP-10 of 2018 includes: Turkey (5,054 million trips), + 25.5% compared for the three quarters of last year; Germany (1.035 million), + 4%; Italy (912.6 thousand), + 19.8%; Spain (851.4 thousand), + 2.14%; Thailand (829.2 thousand), + 12.5%; Greece (776 thousand), - 5.3%; Cyprus (727 thousand), - 5.7%; The UAE (661.6 thousand), + 42.5%; Tunisia (576.2 thousand), + 21.8%; Bulgaria (435.2 thousand), - 9.8%. Behind them are such countries as: Vietnam, France, the Czech Republic, Israel, Montenegro, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.