Tourists from Russia increasingly prefer excursion Spain

At the end of 2018, Spain was visited by 3222,795 guests from Russia, almost 90% of them came with tourist purposes. The increase amounted to 6.3% compared with 2017. The figures of the National Institute of Statistics of Spain, which published the tourism department of the Spanish embassy in Moscow, include the total number of Russian citizens visiting Spain – these are holders of multiple-entry visas, children traveling with their parents, and the Russians who came from other countries. 
The list of the most visited areas inside Spain by Russian tourists is traditionally headed by Catalonia. It was chosen for recreation by 59.44% of people (more than 726 thousand), on the second place is Valencia community (16.19%) and on the third is Madrid (9.33%). The next are Canary Islands (5.28%), Andalusia (3.43%) and the Balearic Islands (3.19%). Only a little bit number of tourists chose Basque Country (1.18%), Galicia (0.68%) and Murcia (0.49%). 
Almost 40% of tourists from Russia spent from 8 to 15 days in Spain, another 33% - from 4 to 7. Of these, 71% were accommodated in hotels. At the same time, 289.5 thousand people (23.69%) bought a full tour package, the rest part came without it. A little over 100 thousand people participated in excursion tours. 
According to representatives of Russian operators, who send tourists to Spain, the customer’s requests have changed in recent years. It is the excursion programs that are growing in popularity. 
Now, according to experts, the market of tours based on regular flights is rapidly developing. An air connection with Madrid has been appeared. And if tourists fly there, they have an opportunity to visit different historical cities of Spain. Very close is, for example, Toledo. Segovia and Ubeda are also easy to get to.