Joint cruise proposal from Russia to Türkiye: Let's revitalize the Black Sea with Sochi-İstanbul ship tours

The Russian tourism market, which last year had come almost to a standstill, has begun to recover. The Association of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROB) announced that, although the figure of 4.5 million reached in 2014 may not be attained, 3-3.5 million tourists could be expected from Russia this year. TÜROB noted that Russia has proposed that both countries work together to launch cruise tours on the Sochi-İstanbul route in the Black Sea.

The Russian tourism market, once one of Türkiye's largest, which had come almost to a standstill last year due to the aircraft crisis between the two countries, has begun to recover. The Association of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROB) announced that, although the figure of 4.5 million reached in 2014 may not be attained, around 3-3.5 million tourists could arrive from Russia this year. Following the recently held MITT Moscow 2017 Tourism Fair, TÜROB prepared a report taking into account demand from this country in the first quarter of the year and bookings for the coming months. The report contains expectations from this market, which is of great importance to Turkish tourism. While TÜROB President Timur Bayındır and the TÜROB management took part in the fair with a broad delegation, an interesting proposal also came from the Russian side. The Russian tourism authority proposed that both countries work together to launch cruise tours on the Sochi-İstanbul route in the Black Sea. Under the proposal, the tour cruising the Black Sea coasts would begin in Sochi and end in İstanbul.

In summary, TÜROB's final report reads as follows:
-In 2016, the number of tourists arriving in Türkiye from Russia fell by 76 percent to 866 thousand. In 2014, approximately 4.5 million tourists had arrived from Russia, and 3.5 million in 2015.
-In 2016, a total of 31.6 million people travelled abroad from Russia. Türkiye, which has always been the leader in outbound travel for tourism purposes from Russia, slipped to eighth place in the Russian tourism market last year.
- Given that our country is the first that comes to mind in Russia when tourism and holidays are mentioned, the price-quality balance, the experience of our sector, and the possibility of a contraction in demand in the European market, the likelihood is quite high that the demand deferred from Russia since 2016 will be directed to our country during the season.

Even if the numbers are reached, revenue will remain low
- Provided there is no negative development in political relations, while it is possible for the number of tourists arriving in our country from Russia in 2017 to approach the 2015 figures, no significant change in tourism revenue is forecast due to the decline in prices.
- Senior executives of leading tour operators active in Russia, including Anex Tour, Pegas Tour, TUI Russia, Coral Travel, Tez Tour, Intourist/Thomas Cook and Sunmar, state that summer-season bookings are progressing at a good level as expected. It was noted that this is a result of the improvement in political relations between the two countries, the highly favourable level of early-booking prices, and the fact that charter and group sales for Egypt, one of the most important holiday destinations for Russian tourists, are still suspended.

Türkiye ranks first in demand growth
- According to initial data, the Federal Agency for Tourism, Russia's decision-making body for tourism, foresees a significant increase in the number of Russian tourists travelling to Türkiye in 2017 compared with the previous year.
- According to data compiled from tour operators by the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm), it was noted that total demand for Russians' May 2017 holidays increased by 12 percent, and that in terms of booking share Türkiye ranked first with 32 percent, followed by Cyprus with 8 percent and Greece with 7 percent.
- Russians travel to former Soviet countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to visit friends and relatives; to Finland for shopping and weekend holidays, especially during the Christmas period; to China for business and trade; to Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom for history, culture and shopping; and to Türkiye, Cyprus, Thailand and Greece for sea, sand and sun.

The most important demand: Security
- The Russian Federal Agency for Tourism is insistently requesting that measures be taken for the legal, life and property security of its citizens, particularly those holidaying in our country, and that the citizens themselves and the media be informed of these measures.
- The recent improvement in the political sphere between Türkiye and Russia is making a positive contribution to the aviation sector. In the face of the difficult permit and planning process and risk factors of charter flights, the majority of tour operators will carry out their 2017 programmes in partnership with airlines operating scheduled flights.
- The price/quality balance is of great importance for sustainable tourism. However, it is stated that some tour operators active in the market continually repeat their demands for price reductions from hotels. A possible decline in service standards as a result of prices being pushed below the 'equilibrium price' level could lead to losses that cannot be recovered in the medium and long term. For this reason, it is of great importance, both for the national economy and for sustainable tourism, that, led by our government representatives and as all sector stakeholders, we focus on the revenue and added value to be obtained rather than on the number of tourists arriving.
- The fuel support provided to aircraft by our government is found to be extremely important and beneficial by tour operators and airline companies in terms of revitalizing the market.

You can access the full report at the address below:
http://www.turob.com/basin_bultenleri.aspx?id=24199