All data are based on reservations made via the Aviasales metasearch engine, which is responsible for around 20% of all aviation bookings in Russia, according to the company (including via the websites of the airlines).
The following statement was made by an Aviasales spokesperson: “Who would have expected that 2021 would be so different from 2020 – in a year in which recovery was not really achieved?
As this figure illustrates, the key problem in the Russian source market has not only been the decreased number of total reservations, but also the fact that the most popular destinations have changed continually over time, as seen in this table.
Just consider how countries that were all in the top ten most booked foreign destinations in 2019 aren’t included on the 2021 list, such as Spain, Italy, Germany, China, or France,” says the author.
“As a result, we at Aviasales had to work really hard in 2021 to guarantee that the highest value content was accessible to meet these rapidly changing demands.”
“What has been the motivating factor behind these top locations for 2021? COVID is a real thing, but not in the sense that many people imagine. In reality, neither infection rates nor even restricted borders have been the primary force behind this development. Instead, it has been the vaccination passport laws in place in many nations that have prevented persons who have been vaccinated with Sputnik – i.e. practically all Russians – from entering the country.
According to the report, Turkey is expected to take an astounding 64 percent of all Russian reservations in 2020, with the United Arab Emirates witnessing an almost tripling in bookings.
But by 2021, Turkey’s advantage has been severely eroded, with the country’s share of the market decreasing to a still remarkable 30.7 percent. This is due to the fact that countries such as Georgia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and Hungary started allowing immigration to persons who had received the Sputnik vaccine as early as 2021.
“Our strong recommendation to destinations that are currently receiving significantly higher-than-average numbers of Russian visitors is that they think hard about how they can provide these new visitors with a great value and memorable holiday experience that will encourage them to return again and again,” says the author.
“We say this because classic sun and beach locations like as France, Spain, and Italy continue to be popular searches among Aviasales customers in Russia despite the fact that their borders are practically restricted to Russians.”