The number of Russian tourists on Crete has declined

Tourist flow from Russia to Crete in April decreased by 20% compared with last year. Such statistics, based on data from Airport of Heraklion, was provided by tour operators. 

Experts agreed that based on the results for one month you should not draw conclusions about an unsuccessful season on Crete. Moreover, in April not all charter programs started. According to the managing director of TEZ TOUR Greece Dimitris Charitidis, it was the later charters in April that spoiled the statistics for the month - a large number of tours began only on the first days of May. Meanwhile, the results of the early booking of tours for the summer are comparable with last year's. 

In Ambotis Holidays Russia noted some instability in demand: in the beginning the sales of tours to Crete were active and then there was a slight slowdown. “I think the reason lies in the decline in purchasing power, as well as the Russians' love for summer holidays in Turkey. But this situation is repeated every year - I am sure that we will be able to attract tourists with new offers at attractive prices,” said the general director of the tour operator, Vitaly Stamatov. He believes that conclusions about the season should not be done not only by tourist traffic in April, but also in May: peak demand falls in June. 

According to the head of Mouzenidis Travel, Alexander Tsandekidi, even more Russian tourists will come to Crete this year - his company’s early booking results are 20% higher than last year.