Russian skiers and snowboarders spent about 200 thousand nights at the resorts of the French Alps last winter season. The resort of Three Valleys is the leader in popularity among Russian tourists.

The interest of Russian tourists in tours to France in the summer 2019 has significantly grown, tour operators reported about 10-40% increase in sales of tours compared to the same period last year.

In the season-2019 the volumes of direct transportation to France increased. According to market participants, the relative stability of exchange rates and the emergence of new flights to the cities of France led to an increase in demand for sightseeing and beach tours on the destination from 5 to 100%. At the same time, tour operators have noted a good depth of sales of tours: from 3 to 5 months.  

Rossia Airline announced the launch of the flight program from Moscow to Nice. The carrier will compete with existing Aeroflot flights. According to the airline, Rossia opened the flight SU 6139 along the Moscow-Nice route from May 28. The flights are operated from Sheremetyevo daily. 

This summer, Ural Airlines will launch a new flight from Moscow to the French city of Montpellier. For the new flights, tour operators are already forming offers, including a beach holiday. Ural Airlines will significantly expand its presence on the French market this year.

Several airlines immediately announced new routes to France this year. In the summer season they will perform 15 additional flights to the south of the country a week. In this case the destination can count on the explosive growth of the tourist traffic. A workshop of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region was held in Moscow with the participation of representatives of hotels, airlines, tourist offices of cities and resorts.

Alexandra Mikheeva, the head of France department of the tour operator told about programs and plans of ANEX Tour in France. “ANEX Tour is a tour operator of mass destinations, but we are trying to expand our horizons: France has become one of our most important new products in this season.

On November 8, a joint meeting of Atout France and ANEX Tour operator, which opened sales of package tours to France, was held at French Embassy in Moscow.

“In the past two years the Russians have traveled more often to French region of Alsace. In 2017 the tourist flow grew by 68%, in the first half of 2018 - by 6%”, - said the French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie Bermann. "Last year the number of Russian tourists visited the region increased by 68%.

“Tour operators note the growing demand for budget trips to France such as Paris and the Cote d'Azur, tourists prefer longer tours in hotels of low category”, - said Irina Tyurina, the Press secretary of the Russian Tourist Industry Union (RCT). "The increase in the capital is from 15 to 25%, while sales of tours to the French Riviera grew by more than 40%.

“Russian tourists made more than 230,000 trips to the French capital in 2017, which is 51% more than a year ago”, - reported the Head of the Russian representative office of the Agency of Tourism Development in France «Atout France» Inessa Korotkova. "In Paris in 2017 we recorded 230,1 thousand Russian arrivals, 51% more than a year earlier.

France increased the number of visa centers in Russia, according to the French Ambassador in Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert. "By September 14, we will have 18 centers across Russia, so it's progress," Jean-Maurice Riper said in an interview to RBC. According to him, in 2014 France issued 300 thousand visas to Russians.