Russian summer flights to MENA and Turkey will soar in 2022

Russian summer flights to MENA and Turkey will soar in 2022

For Turkey, the increase is even higher at 96 percent, and Bahrain’s is higher still at 122 percent. Saudi Arabia can expect a modest bump of 16 percent, but Egypt will see a 30 percent increase in Russian visitors.

By contrast, other markets in the wider MENA region, including Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, will all see a decline in Russian visitors this summer compared with 2019.

Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys, said: “From a tourism perspective, Turkey, the UAE and Egypt have benefitted from the invasion of Ukraine as Russians are still welcome there, while other favourite destinations, having imposed sanctions, are effectively off-limits.”

Besides sanctions and the lack of available flights to other favourite destinations for Russian tourists, the fall of the Turkish lira has made the country more affordable as a destination. Saudi Arabia has also been seeking to attract more global tourists through strategic investments in the tourism industry, Ponti said.

“In addition to the relative lack of choice owing to sanctions, the UAE offers numerous visitor attractions, world-class shopping, a plethora of luxury hotels and copious air conditioning,” he added.

A number of sanctions have been imposed on Russia since the start of the war, which has been raging