Turkish Alanya becomes a year-round destination for Russian tourists

The airport of Turkish resort of Alanya in the province of Antalya expects to host almost 250,000 Russian passengers by the end of 2018. And for the first time tour operators are extending the charter programs to Alanya for the winter season. "Gazipasha-Alanya Airport hosted the first flight from Russia in April 2017 and since that time has serviced almost 221.8 thousand Russian passengers. By the end of 2018, we expect more than 247.5 thousand Russians and more than 494 thousand foreigners", - reports the press service of the airport. According to Russian tour operators, Alanya hotels are in great demand among tourists who choose Turkey, mostly due to the availability of direct flights to Gazipasa airport. This year Coral Travel tour operator for the first time decided to extend the flight program to Alanya for the winter. “Starting from November 15, the flights to Gazipasa airport will be performed twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays by Royal Flight from Sheremetyevo”, - said the head of PR department of the company Marina Makarkova. Anex Tour operator will fly to Gazipasa airport until the middle of October. "Packages with a flight to Gazipasa airport are in high demand, as these flights solve the problem of a long transfer from Alanya. The flights are carried out daily, the flight program will last until mid-October", - reported the company's press service. The press service of Intourist tour operator told that 30% of travelers, who travel to Turkey, choose this region. Directly to airport Gazipasa the tour operator does not fly this season. The press service of Anex Tour also noted that Alanya has traditionally been considered as a more budgetary region for accommodation in Turkey than other resorts in the province of Antalya. The prices for hotels in Alanya lower than in neighboring regions. In winter, hoteliers offer discounts. M.Makarkova added that the transfer from Gazipasa airport to Alanya hotels will take from 15 to 40 minutes. Also from the airport you can reach Side region, the journey time is 1-1.5 hours. The flow of tourists from Russia to Turkey from January to July 2018 increased by 29.6% (up to 3.276 million people) compared to the same period of the last year. Earlier, the Turkish authorities reported that they expect to host 6 million tourists from Russia this year.