Sales of foreign tours almost halted in Russia - ATOR

MOSCOW. March 9 (Interfax) - The sales of tours abroad continue to decline amid the situation surrounding Ukraine and an economic crisis in Russia, with Turkey and Egypt still among the most popular destinations, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said on Wednesday.

"According to travel agencies, the sales of foreign tours in the week from February 28 to March 6 decreased by almost 70% compared to the last week of February, in which demand also dropped by 70%. The sales of tours around Russia also declined, but not so much," the statement said.

Russians most often bought tours to Sochi last week. According to ATOR, the average price for such trip is 36,800 rubles with a flight. Tours to Egypt are in second place according to sales (22%), Turkey in third place (16%), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked fourth. The average price of a tour to Turkey was 108,100 rubles, almost 100,000 to Egypt, and 275,000 rubles to the UAE.

"Given the current international situation and the rising dollar and euro exchange rate one should expect a further decline in the share of foreign tours in the volume of sales, which will remain," the ATOR said.