2.5 million Russian tourists flew to Antalya in January-July, the local airport reported. This is a record for the last five years, but there is no earlier statistics. In Antalya, 80-90% of tourists come to Turkey. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2017 the resort was visited by 4.5 million Russian tourists. This year, compared to the past, Biblioglobus sales to Turkey increased by 59%, Tez Tour - by 30%, Level.Travel online service - by 68%, their representatives said.

The tourist attractiveness of Turkey for Russians is growing rapidly for the second year in a row, says Dmitry Gorin, advisor to the head of Rosturism, such an extensive growth is provided by an extensive hotel base and attractive prices.

The share of Russian tourists in the resort remains the largest for seven months - 37%, according to the airport. In a separate July of 2018, when 739,544 people came from Russia to Antalya, the share of Russians was 40.7%. And in June 2018, almost 1 million Russians visited Turkey - a record since 2010, according to the statistics of the local Ministry of Culture and Tourism (there is no earlier data).

Gorin states that so far only Turkey justifies the early expectations of tour operators, the other directions in the summer showed growth less than forecasts. According to him, tour operators pledged an increase in sales by 20-30%, but sales of permits to most countries rose by a maximum of 15%.

 Sales in some areas remained the same as last year. For example, Tez Tour has Bulgaria, Spain and Cyprus. Biblioglobus has Cyprus, Greece and Montenegro. Because of this, in August the number of charter flights to foreign resorts will be reduced by 10-20% from the plans announced by carriers and travel agencies, and will remain the same as in July, the newspaper Kommersant wrote. Although the download on flights this year increased by 2-5%, Gorin knows.

Tour operators were counting on the deferred demand, which was to be realized after the end of the World Cup, but this forecast was not justified in full, Gorin said. Besides, demand from other directions was redistributed in favor of Turkey, Dmitry Malyutin, General Director of Level.Travel adds. Here the tourists are offered a clear service, they do not need to get a visa, and the all-inclusive system does not require additional actions and expenses.

According to the "Biblioglobus", the average cost of a week-long tour to Turkey with air travel, accommodation in a 5-star hotel in the "all inclusive" system is 36,200 rubles. per person. Compared to 2017, the price increased by 10-15% due to the increase in the price of jet fuel and the dollar exchange rate, explains Tez Tour representative.

This year, the share of early bookings (when discounts on trips reach 40%) for the summer amounted to about 50% of all sales, points out Gorin, and in previous years it was about 20-30%. Perhaps, it was the excitement at the beginning of the year that forced tour operators to build too optimistic plans, he argues. In Europe, usually early bookings from tour operators occupy 80% of all sales, summarizes Gorin.