Europe Sun & Beach 19.05.2017
The tour operators note a decrease of Russians' interest in Montenegro after statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry
“The interest in travel to Montenegro among tourists declined after the Russian Foreign Ministry's statements about "anti-Russian hysteria" in the country”, - the Kommersant newspaper reports with reference to the participants of the tourist market. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reported that from the third decade of April the dynamics of booking tours in this direction fell by 25-30% in comparison with the previous weeks. The executive director of the association Maya Lomidze believes that it is possible to make the final conclusions only at the end of May. The Press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) Irina Tyurina also noted the decline in demand for tours to Montenegro. But in her opinion, this is due to the traditional seasonal decline: the period of sale of tours for May holidays ended, the active demand for the summer has not yet resumed. At the same time, she said that market participants faced a small number of canceled tours to Montenegro. Many tour operators noted quite a few canceled trips. In some cases, tourists reoriented to the other destinations, for example, Spain. Director of Sales of Intourist Sergei Tolchin said that over the past few weeks, interest in Montenegro has decreased by 30-40%. He also believes that the decline in demand for Montenegro looks like a decline in sales after May holidays. Statements played a role, but not so active. In 2016, 282,800 Russian tourists visited Montenegro, which is 12% more than in 2015.