Tour operators reported an increase of demand for tours to Europe

Demand for sightseeing trips to Europe in the autumn increased by 10-15% compared to the same period last year, because tourists adapted to the new conditions and think over the trip in advance, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"Demand for non-beach Europe in the autumn season increased slightly compared to last year, the increase in bookings in this segment amounted to 10-15% compared to August 2022. The rise of interest in traveling to Europe is associated with the adaptation of Russians to the "new reality" - the need to fly via the third countries, longer obtaining of Schengen visa and the growth of Euro," the Association said.

As ATOR noted, most often tourists book city tours for autumn to Italy (Rome, Milan and Venice), France (Paris), Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), Hungary (Budapest) and Austria (Vienna). There are also applications for visiting cities in Germany, Switzerland and the UK.

“This choice is connected not only with the popularity of these destinations, but also with the conditions for issuing Schengen visas. So, in the top three are countries that issued the largest number of Schengen visas to Russian tourists in 2022 and which continue to issue visas for tourist trips in 2023,” the Association explained..

According to tour operators, all tours to Europe can now be called individual due to the complexity of booking of air segment. In addition, in order to save money, most tourists buy air tickets to Europe 3-5 months before the trip.

The most popular options for connecting flights to Europe are via Istanbul, Yerevan, Baku and Alma-Ata.