Kazan doesn't have discounts for other popular holiday destinations after the opening of Turkey
The experts believe that the shortage of available boards for charters and the lack of mass demand due to the fear of terrorist attacks will prevent the resumption of the Turkish destination
According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the prices for the popular resorts have fallen by 10-11% in a week. Perhaps, the reason is the opening of Turkey for the Russian tourists. As the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya found out, according to the estimates of travel agencies in Tatarstan, the information about the lifting of the ban on the sale of tours to Turkey practically has not had an impact on the market. Besides, the experts predict numerous difficulties during the recovery of this destination and the absence of flow of tourists, including due to numerous terrorist attacks on the Turkish land.
Turkey is not the reason
Recently it has been reported that, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the fall in the prices to all popular resorts amounted to 10-11% since Tuesday. Kommersant newspaper, that published the data, links this trend with the opening of Turkey for the tourists. They cited as an example the comment of one of the travel agents who told about the decline in prices to Tunisia by 40%. However, in Tatarstan, according to the experts of Realnoe Vremya, it is not expected the price drop due to the opening of the Turkish destination.
'The discounts for July and August are not expected. Perhaps, the discounts will be in September. It means that those hoteliers, who understand that Turkey will be opened in August-September, they need attract the customers until they decided to fly to Turkey. In general, the hoteliers react on the end of the season with discounts,' says the president of the Association of Tourist Agencies of the Republic of Tatarstan, Director General of Persona Grata Ramil Miftakhov. 'For August, in many hotels in the resorts of Krasnodar region, the Crimea, all rooms have already been booked — at 80-90%. The same can be said about other destinations.'
Ramil Miftakhov: 'It means that those hoteliers, who understand that Turkey will be opened in August-September, they need attract the customers until they decided to fly to Turkey. In general, the hoteliers react on the end of the season with discounts.' Photo: Roman Khasaev
According to the head of travel agency Sputnik-Trans-Service-Kazan Evgenia Nikulina, without formed charter flights from Kazan to Turkey it is too early to talk about the redistribution of demand and the fall in prices to other destinations.
'We do not see a significant decline, and if it is, we do not associate it with the opening of Turkey because there are no active sales there. It is premature and wrong to say that because of Turkey the prices will fall because the charter packages are not formed. Turkish packages are formed only for scheduled flights.'
The head of the tourism department of the company Skyland Travel Alyona Surovtseva also denies the price reduction:
'There is no tendency for the fall in prices. Maybe, there are some discounts at some hotels, but it happens usually. Hotels do their own discounts, promotions, but it is not connected with Turkey,' she said.
In general, the interviewed experts link a possible decline in prices with the promotions and the fact that the charter flights to some direction are not fully loaded. One of them is Tunisia. The tour operators do not see any connection between a possible entry on the market of Turkey and the discounts.
When?
The instruction to lift the restriction on the holiday destination of Turkey Vladimir Putin gave on 29 June. Immediately after that, they started to talk about a possible resumption of charter flights to the country. The resumption of one of the most popular among Russian tourists destinations requires permission of Rosaviatsiya for charter flights to Turkey. However, the official go-ahead has not been given yet.
At the moment, only the organization of regular flights is officially allowed. Its first scheduled flight with tourists of Biblio Globus recently has flown from Moscow. It was reported that in the sunny country the travelers were welcomed with flowers, people were offered cocktails and some local TV stations broadcasted live from the airport.
'Everything depends not only from us but on the Russian government and agencies: the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Agency for Tourism — one give green light to charter flights, the other — to the sale of tours,' said Miftakhov. 'We expect that it will be in the end of July — the beginning of August. But again, since 29 June, when the President announced, until today it has been two weeks but nothing has changed.'
The interviewed by Realnoe Vremya market experts cite as one of the main difficulties in the organization of flights the lack of available planes during the peak summer season. Thus, after the official permission for charter flights, they may need to sacrifice other destinations and to reduce the number of flights in favor of Turkey.
Sergey Pasechnik: 'It's all at the level of laws. When Moscow decides at the legislative level — only then it will fly. When it will be — nobody knows.' Photo: Roman Khasaev
'It's all at the level of laws. When Moscow decides at the legislative level — only then it will fly. When it will be — nobody knows,' said the CEO of Companion SP Sergey Pasechnik.
In its turn, Turkey over a long period of idle time requires serious works with the infrastructure: they need buses, entertainers. The experts do not expect a large number of tourists to Turkey this year, and they do not exclude that the launch of the charter flights from Kazan can be delayed until the end of this year.
Alyona Surovtseva: 'One of my friends have recently returned from Turkey — it is impossible to stay there. In Antalya the military dogs are everywhere. Only beach — hotel, hotel — beach.'
'The policemen with dogs are everywhere in Antalya'
Perhaps, the highest concern is not the possible low quality of services and the difficulties with the charter flights but the threat of the terrorist attacks.
'I don't expect this year a large stream to Turkey because there is quite a strange situation. Many of the hotels are in not very good condition. Besides, ones of my friends have recently returned from Turkey — it is impossible to stay there. In Antalya the policemen with dogs are everywhere. Only beach — hotel, hotel — beach,' said the head of the tourism department of the company Skyland Travel Alyona Surovtseva. According to her, the clients of the travel company in that regard are not even interested in Turkey now, they prefer already booked earlier destinations.
The Director General of the tour company Sten Leonid Press asks a reasonable question due to the terrorists attacks:
'There has just been a terrorist stack in Istanbul. If our Rosaviatsiya permits, the Egyptians will ask the reasonable question: why do you permit the Turks but do not permit us? It is the policy. Perhaps, in August they will fly if nothing happens by that moment.'
Speaking about the situation in general, Sergey Pasechnik notes that despite everything the information about the opening of Turkey has had a positive effect on the tourist market.
'For Turkey, it is a very good upsurge, after a long wearisome waiting they just allowed all of a sudden. Nobody is offended with Egypt for already a year and a half, but it is still closed: they still are deciding some security problems. Here, everyone is glad. For tourism it is good, because everyone cheered up: those who love Turkey, they are waiting, planning.'