According to PR director of tour operator Tez Tour Larisa Akhanova, there are currently no prerequisites for a reduction in prices for holidays in Turkey, although hoteliers are stimulating demand with special offers in the amount of 10%. “The main discounts were during the early booking promotion, they reached 45%, primarily in Antalya. Now the main market for Turkey – Germany – has begun to recover, demand from Eastern European countries has grown: all this allows hoteliers to feel confident,” she said.
The Intourist company also noted that prices in the Turkish direction are stable and only increase as the peak of the beach season approaches.
"The price increase confirms our forecasts and is about 15% in foreign currency. At the same time, the cost of hotels increased by 15-17%, and transportation - by 10-11% due to the rise in fuel prices. In rubles, taking into account the devaluation of 10-15%, the price increase is approximately 25%," said Marina Makarkova, head of the public relations department of Coral Travel.
The tour operator Coral Travel has a minimum price for a trip to Turkey of 9.6 thousand rubles per person for six nights at the Grove Hotel 3* BB (Fethiye). “If we take the Antalya coast and the all-inclusive meal plan, then the price for six nights is from 16.9 thousand rubles at the Belle Vue Kemer 3* (Kemer), from 17.7 thousand at the Himeros Beach Hotel 4* (Kemer) and from 24.3 thousand at the Throne Nilbahir Resort & Spa 5*,” M. Makarkova said.
The company noted the interest of tourists in the hotels of the Otium chain and Xanadu Resort Hotel 5* High Class, which have undergone renovation.
The tour operator Biblio-Globus has a minimum price for a tour to the Antalya coast of Turkey for seven nights with accommodation in a 3* hotel and breakfast included, which is 15.2 thousand rubles; a tour to the Aegean coast is 18.8 thousand rubles.
The minimum cost of a trip to Turkey from Anex Tour will be from 23 thousand rubles per person, in Tez Tour – $192 (about 12 thousand rubles) per person for six nights. The tour operator Intourist has prices starting from 10.3 thousand rubles per person in a 3* hotel in the Alanya region for three nights (flight, transfer, accommodation, breakfast) with departure from Moscow.
Demand for tours during the season was mixed
“The results of early booking in Turkey were more than 100% ahead of last year’s figures. After the end of this promotion, sales were the same as in 2017. The last two or three weeks, the number of bookings has been slightly lower than last summer. The World Cup is not the main reason for the decline; we note a direct impact on sales only in the cities where the matches were held,” said M. Makarkova.
Tez Tour also noted the success of the early booking campaign. “Sales increased more than 4.5 times, demand was very high until mid-June,” L. Akhanova reported.
According to her, sales are currently slowing down. “The demand deferred due to the 2018 World Cup is moving towards the velvet season and lower prices (September-October). The high season begins in Turkey on July 15, the peak will be in August – in order to relax on these dates, clients have been booking tours since November last year,” she said.
At the same time, some tour operators note a significant increase in sales. Thus, in Intourist, sales of beach Turkey increased by 20-45%. “There is growth in all Turkish destinations. Antalya (Belek, Side) is in high demand, and Dalaman (Marmaris, Fethtiye) is in good demand,” the press service noted.
The Biblio-Globus company reported an increase in demand for tours to Turkey this summer by 72% compared to the same period last year. “The depth of sales now reaches October. A very significant increase in the average depth of booking was felt at the beginning of the season, in March they bought tours for September,” the tour operator’s press service added.
The same trend was noted by Anex Tour. “The average depth of tour bookings has increased: in the previous season it was 4.8 months, this season – 5.2,” the press service said. Turkey remains the leader in summer sales for the company.
Where if not to Turkey?
Almost all major tour operators surveyed by the Interfax-Tourism portal noted the popularity of Greece, Spain and Cyprus in the 2018 summer season.
"Greece enjoys consistently high demand, as it did last year. In June, you could vacation on the popular island of Rhodes with a discount of 30%. This year, we also have good figures for Spain, which recently reduced the time it takes to issue visas for Russians," Intourist said.
Anex Tour noted that Greece, Cyprus, Spain and the Dominican Republic are in high demand this year. At the same time, the average cost of packages has generally remained at the 2017 level.
In the Tez Tour company, Greece and Italy are among the top destinations. According to L. Akhanova, expensive exotics are also in demand in the summer - the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius - thanks to discounts of up to 50%, which are given by hoteliers, dollar cost and inexpensive flights.
The tour operator Biblio-Globus lists Russia, Cyprus, Greece, Tunisia, Spain, Bulgaria and Montenegro as its top popular destinations. “The undisputed leader in tourists’ preferences in the 2018 summer season is Russia, namely the resorts of Sochi and Krasnodar Krai. Demand for tours to Spain exceeds last year’s figures by 30%: the most popular resorts for beach holidays are Costa Brava and Costa Dorada, and for excursions – Barcelona and Madrid,” the press service reported.
Source: tourism.interfax.ru
