Flights to Israel from Russia have recently been more in demand by repatriates and relocators, but there was still some tourist component. Due to the aggravation of the situation in the Gaza Strip, we propose to forget about tourism to the Promised Land for a while.
Although we will not be surprised that some “russo touristo” security problems will only spur – after all, according to their logic, if there are problems, then there should be discounts, and in general everything has been paid for a long time, and another war is not a reason to cancel a vacation. But the trouble is, the Ministry of Economic Development, which is now responsible for tourism, has already recommended that tour operators (TO) suspend the sale of tours to Israel, and citizens should refuse to travel to this country. By the way, according to the association “Tourist Assistance”, there are currently no more than 100 organized tourists in Israel.
Rosaviation “in connection with the unstable military-political situation in the State of Israel” from 3 a.m. on October 8 imposed restrictions on night flights from airports of the Russian Federation to airports in Israel “until special orders”. On the 7th, only 14% of international flights to Tel Aviv were canceled, although major airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines are among those that suspended flights to Israel. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was operating normally on October 7 and 8, sending and receiving flights, but from Monday night a large number of passengers had already accumulated at the airport, and on Monday morning most flights were canceled. Footage of passengers who had already disembarked from the plane lying on the runway in front of the apron bus flew around the whole world. Yes, it was here that the air raid alarm caught them.
A natural disaster occurred last week in India – flooding in the northern part of the state of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas. Several dozen people were killed, more than a hundred are missing. In total, about 3 thousand people are in danger, among whom, according to the Consulate General of Russia in Calcutta, three Russian tourists, as this area is popular among climbers and those interested in Buddhist practices. People who found themselves in the flood zone are promised to be evacuated by helicopters.
The tragic news came from Thailand – where a 34-year-old tourist from Russia ignored the red flags on Bang Tao Beach (also known as Laguna Beach) and went swimming. As a result, he was swept into the open sea, rescuers pulled the man out, but could not pump him out.
Freedom of the air
Despite, hopefully, temporary problems with flights to Israel, Russian aviation has some breakthrough news in other areas. Firstly, the Russian Federation and Kyrgyzstan have agreed on the so-called “fifth freedom of the air”, i.e. flights from one foreign state to another when flying to their country. Russian carriers have received permission to fly to the Kyrgyz cities of Bishkek, Osh and Tamchi, landing in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) and onward to China. Kyrgyz airlines, in turn, will be able to fly from their airports to several Russian cities and other destinations in third countries. This is very cool, although the number of flights is limited to ten per week for each side.
Secondly, the aviation authorities of Russia and China are expanding the geography of flights. According to the new memorandum of understanding, Russian airlines will be able to fly to Haikou and Sanya airports on Hainan Island, and Chinese airlines will be able to fly to Vladivostok, Ulan-Ude and Kaliningrad. In addition to flights, the memorandum provides assistance in aircraft maintenance and the possibility of technical landings of Russian airliners in China for refueling.
The rest of the aviation-related news is not so “breakthrough”, but it is unique. For example, Ural Airlines decided that its Airbus would take off directly from a wheat field in the Novosibirsk region, i.e. it would take off directly from where it made an emergency landing on September 12. AN-Tourism does not remember similar examples of this type of aircraft in the modern history of aviation. We are watching intently. It is still known that in order to lighten the weight of the liner, the seats in the cabin may be dismantled.
And the next initiative of Aeroflot, we dare to assume, was introduced within the framework of the overbooking situation, which we wrote about in the previous, 39th issue of the AN. Recall that in the last issue we drew attention to the multi-vector initiatives of aviators and parliamentarians on the issue of overbooking. Once again, this is just an assumption, but Aeroflot’s voluntary introduction of compensation for flight delays with miles from the Aeroflot Bonus loyalty program looks like preparing public opinion for more global changes. But anyway, this innovation of the national carrier is better than nothing. Aeroflot itself emphasizes that miles are accrued in addition to compensation measures established by law. “Well, we are so white and fluffy, don’t you believe it?” – as the national carrier claims.
Last week, Aeroflot reported that it had transferred 17 more aircraft to Russian jurisdiction, “completing the process of settling relations with the Irish lessor SMBC Aviation Capital.” The news is good, there are no words, but we cannot help but notice that for some reason other Russian airlines do not have such news. As some experts note, Aeroflot’s truly outstanding successes became possible only because of the priority attention of the government of the Russian Federation to the needs of the national carrier – they gave him money to buy out, but the rest have not yet.
Bedbugs in Paris
If we remove the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the media field, then the most high–profile event of the past week is undoubtedly the “invasion of bedbugs” in Paris. A huge number of messages on social networks that bedbugs in Paris were seen on public transport, hotels, hospitals, cinemas and airports demanded a response from the authorities. The French Ministry of Health had to answer. The Minister of Health of the Fifth Republic, Aurelien Rousseau, immediately noted that the problem of bedbugs “has nothing to do with immigration.” And there is no “invasion” at all, it’s just that Paris is a super–popular destination, so “when you travel, you can carry them on yourself from abroad.”
To put it mildly, it’s a so–so explanation, especially on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But officials, alas, are the same all over the world.
The Oscar Award in tourism
The World Travel Awards 2023 is the most prestigious award in the field of tourism and hospitality. In Europe, as a part of the world, there is no Russia in the nominees at all, but there is Belarus. In particular, the best hotel in this country is Beijing Hotel Minsk. And in general, the best hotel in Europe is Çıragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, Turkey. The best city hotel is also among the Turks – Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus. But the best beach holiday in Europe is the Algarve, Portugal. And the best beach hotels and resorts (Beach Resort) are located in Greece – Elix Mar-Bella Collection and Domes Noruz Kassandra, respectively. Of the aviation awards, we note the best economy class from Virgin Atlantic Airways (Great Britain).
Vietnam Airlines has the best economy class in Asia, Indonesia is the best beach destination, and the Royal Cliff Grand Hotel, Thailand is the best beach hotel. The hotel from Thailand, the InterContinental Koh Samui Resort, won in the Beach Resort nomination. And in the nomination of the city hotel Thailand again – Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort.
There are a lot of nominations in total, if you are interested in the topic, you can look at the website – worldtravelawards.com/winners/2023 .
Michelin about hotels
The most prestigious award in the restaurant business – Michelin has decided from 2024 to issue “keys” to hotels by analogy with its restaurant “stars”. There are five selection criteria:
– reason for the trip: the hotel itself as part of the impression of the destination;
– perfection of architecture and interior design;
– quality and regularity of service, comfort and service;
– uniqueness reflecting the individuality of the institution, its unique character;
– the correspondence between the quality of impressions and the price.
Michelin experts have already evaluated hotels in popular countries in Asia, Europe and America and have compiled their list of recommendations, so far without breaking down by “keys”. The list includes more than 5 thousand hotels and inns in 120 countries around the world. Among the countries of the post-Soviet space, only Georgia and Azerbaijan are represented in the list.
The capital of Parks
The Moscow Tourism Committee, together with 2GIS and the hotel booking service, conducted an interesting study on what tourists are looking for in search engines in relation to the capital. Gorky Park is in the first place, Zaryadye Park is in the second place and the Island of Dreams amusement park is in the third place. The Kremlin and the Tretyakov Gallery are on the 4th and 5th places. Most tourists come to the capital from St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Territory and Rostov region.
And a popular domestic travel planning service conducted a survey among its customers on the topic “Which attraction would you like to see the most?”. Answers by ranking: Hermitage, Colosseum, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Pompeii, Peterhof, Louvre, Sulak Canyon, Curonian Spit, Meteora monasteries, Orsay Museum and Mayan pyramids.
Invitation to partnership – t.me/snn1964
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Источник: argumenti.ru
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