Flights to European countries are not so inaccessible now, said Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia.
“As soon as the prices of flights to Europe decreased, the Russian tourist flow immediately increased. Previously, a Moscow-Istanbul-Rome ticket cost 120 thousand rubles, but now you can independently get to Yerevan and fly from there to Rome for nine thousand rubles round trip. Instead of flying through Istanbul for an insane amount of money — 300 thousand just for air tickets for a family of three — now you can safely get to Rome for 100 thousand rubles,” he told NSN.
Italy, Spain, Greece, Hungary and France, according to his information, give Russians visas, and they willingly go.
In 2024, foreign airlines attracted 50% of Russian passengers by offering lower fares.