The Russian tourist has been missing in Spain since last March 27, when as a result of the pandemic the borders of the Russian Federation were closed and the commercial flights that linked both countries were suspended, however, today, competing destinations such as Turkey have already started receiving Russian tourists. And eyes are now turning to Russia's new vaccine against the coronavirus.
For this reason and looking to the near future, Visit Benidorm Foundation has resumed promotional actions in this market in order to take a position in the face of a return to normality.
Benidorm opens this week at the XXVI edition of the Otdykh Leisure Fair, held from September 10 to 12, and aimed exclusively at professionals for the first 2 days and the general public on the last day.
For this year, Turespaña has opted for a participation with a stand under its own brand and where Visit Benidorm has a space where you can give information and carry out professional appointments in which it will show the benefits of Benidorm and the infinite possibilities sales for Russian tour operators and agencies.
In 2019, the main motivation of Russian tourists who visited Spain was leisure (91% of the total). They mostly stayed in hotels (76%) and mainly travelled without a tourist package (74%). Their favorite destination was Catalonia (61%), followed by a long distance by the Valencian Community (14%). Middle class tourists (52%) predominated, as well as those who travelled with the family (36%), followed by those who travelled as a couple (23%) or alone (19%). Most of them had higher education (92%), and aged between 25 and 44 years (67%), the average age being 37 years, below the average age of all tourists (44 years). The main activities they carried out were shopping (68%), enjoying the beach (61%) and visiting cities (60%) (Turespaña estimates).
The consequences of the crisis caused by COVID-19 began to manifest themselves in the month of March, translating into significant drops in the flow of tourists (-69.8%), in spending (-74.2%) and in the Hotel overnight stays (-70.0%), which have also affected the result of the first quarter of 2020, which has shown declines of -29.5%, -33.4% and -23.8% respectively (INE).
To date, the valuation of the Spain brand in the Russian market is "very good" and it remains that the desire to spend the holidays in Spain has not been touched. According to data from the survey carried out by NAFI in April, it stated that 67% of Russians wanted to go abroad on their summer vacations, however, subsequently the narrative by the government has been contrary, betting and recommending national tourism to its citizens .
Over the next few months, Benidorm will reinforce the promotion in this market by participating in various events organized by Turespaña such as World Paella Day or the Kremlin Tennis Cup and carrying out destination presentations with important tour operators such as TUI Russia, Mounzenedis , Premiera and Good Time.
The Russian tourist has been missing in Spain since last March 27, when as a result of the pandemic the borders of the Russian Federation were closed and commercial flights that linked both countries were suspended, however, today, competing destinations such as Turkey have already started receiving Russian tourists. And eyes are now turning to the new vaccine that Russia has patented against the coronavirus.