Turkey, Thailand, UAE: Where are rich Russian holidaymakers going to avoid travel sanctions? 

Travel sanctions didn’t halt affluent Russians from going connected vacation past year, a caller study has revealed.

When Russia invaded Ukraine successful February 2022, the European Union suspended visas for Russian travellers.

But affluent tourists simply decided to vacation elsewhere.

According to probe from formation information steadfast ForwardKeys, affluent Russians returned to question “with a vengeance”.

From the commencement of the war connected 24 February 2022 until the extremity of December, premium people tickets for Russian outbound question boomed, expanding by 10 per cent connected pre-pandemic levels.

Normal Russians stayed home, however, with system people question during the aforesaid play down 70 per cent connected 2019 levels.

Where are affluent Russians going?

Seat capableness - the fig of seats an hose sells -on flights from Russia to the European Union is down 99 per cent compared to pre-pandemic, ForwardKeys explains.

This bounds connected seats comes arsenic astir European countries are restricting the fig of visas they connection to Russian travellers.

But plentifulness of different countries inactive invited tourists from the country.

Thailand appears to beryllium 1 of the astir fashionable destinations for these holidaymakers, with premium-class question up 81 per cent from 2019.

Premium question to the UAE is up 108 per cent. Tourists person besides flocked to Turkey (up 41 per cent), the Maldives (up 137 per cent) and Egypt (up 181 per cent).

There is nary shortage of tickets disposable for these destinations Seat capableness connected flights betwixt Russia and the Middle East accrued by 27 per cent compared to the equivalent play earlier the pandemic.

Seat capableness connected flights betwixt Turkey and Russia accrued by 26 per cent.

Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines person benefited the astir from the surge, said Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights, ForwardKeys.

“The top interaction connected aerial question to and from Russia since the penetration of Ukraine past February has been war-related sanctions, which person peculiarly benefitted Turkey and the Middle East, arsenic they person maintained nonstop flights to and from Russia,” helium said.

Travellers person flocked to Antalya, the Turkish riviera resort. Flights determination from Moscow’s 3 large airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Sheremetyevo, were up by 144 per cent, 77 per cent, and 74 per cent respectively, compared to pre-pandemic levels.

But this question roar is strictly constricted to the rich, said Ponti.

“The astir eye-opening diagnostic is the premium people boom, which appears to exemplify a part successful Russian nine betwixt the rich, who holidayed successful style, portion the little affluent stayed astatine home,” helium said.

However, the wealthy question surge appears to person collapsed successful 2023, FlightKeys claim.

International question has mostly collapsed, adjacent for the wealthy. Premium people formation bookings are 26 per cent down 2019 levels and system 66 per cent down.

How has the warfare impacted formation prices and question times?

The warfare closed the airspace supra overmuch of Ukraine and Russia. This means an summation successful formation times.

37 per cent of aerial postulation betwixt Europe and the Asia Pacific portion present takes much than 8 hours, up from 23 per cent earlier the invasion.

Average fares person besides increased, arsenic the outgo of surviving surges. The terms of flights betwixt Europe and Asia Pacific was 20 per cent higher than earlier the pandemic successful 2019.