Tourist flow from Russia to the Maldives has increased by more than 20% for the first 9 months of 2018

“Tourist flow from Russia to the Maldives increased by 20.3% for the first 9 months of 2018. 51,1 thousand of Russian tourists visited the islands,” reported the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). “Among all the exotic islands of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are leading both in tourist traffic from Russia and in the dynamics of annual growth,” the Association added. As ATOR noted, the Maldives has its regular audience, which is growing at the expense of other exotic islands. Thus, tourists began to prefer Maldives to Seychelles and Mauritius more often due to better prices for hotels and the availability of the direct flight of Aeroflot airline. The flow of tourists from Russia to Sri Lanka has also grown. According to the Association, over 9 months of 2018, more than 42 thousand Russian tourists arrived to the island, which is 12.4% more than a year earlier. “The tourist flow has been growing for the second year. This is due to the tour operators who organize direct charter flights to the island, cheapening the final price of the tour. In the winter season 2018/2019 there will be more charters to Sri Lanka than last year,” stressed ATOR. At the same time, the tourist flow from Russia to the other exotic destinations of the Indian Ocean - the Seychelles and Mauritius - has dropped. Thus, from January to September, 8.4 thousand Russians visited the Seychelles - 16% less than a year earlier. Despite this, Russia is still in the TOP 10 of source markets for the Seychelles and is on the eighth line. “The reasons for this are the weak promotion of the destination, the lack of direct air links and Maldivian factor,” concluded the Association.