Russians most often choose Turkey for summer holidays

The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) named the most popular holiday destinations for Russian tourists in the summer of 2023. Turkey is the leader in the number of early bookings from tour operators.

"According to Fun&Sun, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Egypt, and Thailand are among the top five in terms of early bookings. Sales volume has grown significantly compared to last year. Over the period from January 01 to February 10, bookings exceeded the same period in 2022 by 40%", - the press service of RST reports.

As per the data of the tour operator Intourist, Turkey and Abkhazia became the most popular destinations. “Turkey’s booking rate is still lower than last year, but the country still holds the first place in terms of the number of applications,” the company notes.

Sales of summer tours to Abkhazia exceeded the level of last year by 20-40%, Intourist informs.

In the segment of expensive tours, tour operators also noticed an increase of sales. According to RST, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Thailand became the leaders in early bookings of summer holidays.

In 2022, Turkey also became the leader among foreign holiday destinations for Russians, accepted 5,2 million tourists. In 2023, the tourist flow from Russia is expected to exceed 6 million people.