Despite the rise in prices of 30% and more, Turkey remains the leader in sales for the “earlier booking” for the upcoming summer. This was reported by representatives of the largest agency networks.
As the head of the network of travel agencies "MGP" Sergey Agafonov told, the demand for early booking tours is a little behind last year. “However, in February we saw that early booking stimulated sales very well. Not so much as in 2018, but after the winter we felt a noticeable revival,” said the expert.
At the same time, according to Sergey Agafonov, Turkey and Russia remain the leaders, as in the past season. Tunisia also shows good results.
As for prices, according to the head of MGP, it’s not worth counting on last minute offers during the high season - it’s best to buy tours in advance. “This year Turkey has risen seriously enough. The rise in prices was about 30–40%,” Sergey Agafonov recalled.
In turn, the CEO of Pink Elephant network, Alexan Mkrtchyan, noted that in the beginning of the season the company's sales increased by about 20%.
“The main trend at the moment is a serious increase in sales of Intourist and TUI, while other major players maintain their last year’s volumes,” the expert said.
At the same time, Alexan Mkrtchyan agreed with his colleague. According to him, the undisputed leaders of this season are Russia and Turkey. Also Cyprus has good indicators. In turn, Bulgaria decreased significantly.
Olga Ivanova, the PR Director of the United Network of TBG and Hot Tours, also stated that, despite the increase in prices, Turkey maintains a leading position. “The rate of early booking is at the level of last year. Turkey has grown up: if last year it accounted to 48% of all sales, then in 2019 it was almost 51%. Next are Tunisia and Russia. According to our forecasts, in the summer the alignment of forces may slightly change - the demand will increase for Cyprus, Abkhazia and Russia,” said the expert.
Commenting the price situation, Olga Ivanova noted that the average price of tour for Turkey this year increased by 21%. The situation is similar with Tunisia. Greece added about 10%. Cyprus kept last year's prices. In turn, holidays in Russia, by contrast, fell by an average of 10%.
