The demand for tour packages for holidays in Turkey is so high that it considerably exceeds the supply, Russia’s Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) said Thursday.
"Demand significantly exceeds the supply that is limited by air transportation," ATOR said on its website, stressing that travel agencies have been reporting a shortage of tour packages with flights to Turkey for the days ahead.
Turkey is known as one of Russia's top foreign holiday destinations and is now among a few nations that operate flights to and from the country since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The conflict has been expected to impact the arrivals from the two countries that have been Turkey's top tourist sources.
"It is impossible to buy tours to Antalya with a departure in two or three days even from Moscow," ATOR said, referring to Turkey’s Mediterranean resort province that has for years been the top holiday spot for Russian citizens.
As for the Aegean coast, the "situation is even more deficient," it added. But it noted optimism for an improvement, as it said the previously very limited transportation to Turkey was being expanded.
ATOR cited tour operator Coral Travel, which confirmed the shortage and the wide gap between demand and supply. "There are no spots in the system both for Antalya and the Aegean," it said.
"And on some flights, there really are no seats for the month of July and August," the company noted.
"There are really no places in Antalya for the next dates," another operator, Pegas Touristik, said. "There are very few of them for dates after June 18. The further the departure date is, the more seats are available on flights," it noted.
One of the largest tour operators, Anex Tour also confirmed that "there are no empty seats for flights to Turkey for the next 5-6 days."
"This is primarily due to demand, which exceeds supply," the company said.
Russian banks have been isolated from the global financial system after payment firms suspended their operations over Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Yet, Turkish authorities have said Russian holidaymakers would not face difficulties in making payments as the Russian payment system Mir continues to grow in the country.
Russians accounted for 19% of foreign visitors to Turkey last year, with 4.7 million people, while Ukraine ranked third at 8.3%, with 2.1 million people.
Officials had hoped tourism this year could replicate or exceed the numbers from 2019, when some 52 million visitors – including about 7 million Russians and 1.6 million Ukrainians – brought in $34 billion in revenue.
According to official data, the number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the first four months leaped 172.5% from a year ago to nearly 7.47 million, versus 2.74 million in 2021.