Russian tourist numbers are set to grow even further

Tour companies are expecting rapid growth in the number of Russian visitors coming to the Czech Republic as outbound tourism from the world's largest country increases by almost one third annually.

The influx of Russian tourists is driving growth in regional Czech airports as well as helping hotels, both in the capital and regional towns, to fill their rooms.

Some venues have reported Russian tourist numbers this year are already up by as much as half on the same period in 2012, which itself saw heavy growth in business from Russia.

Among the agencies expecting to send much greater numbers of Russians to the Czech Republic this year is Moscow-based TUI Russia & CIS.

Last year 20,000 Russians and Ukrainians came to the Czech Republic on the company's tours, but in 2013 the figure is likely to be "approaching 30,000," according to Managing Director Chris Mottershead.

"There is an innate growth in Russian travelers looking for new places to visit. The new trend is visiting destinations that perhaps were not visited [by Russians] as often as Turkey and Egypt," he said. "There is a big scope, and we would like to see our business to the Czech Republic coming up to 50,000 in the next two years."

From January to September last year, the number of Russians coming to the Czech Republic grew 24.8 percent to 523,000, according to ATOR Analytical Service, putting them second behind only German visitors.

Overall, the number of foreign tourists visiting the Czech Republic in the third quarter of 2012 increased 11.2 percent, meaning growth from Russia heavily outpaced the average.

Russians accounted for 9.3 percent of foreign visitors in 2012, compared with 6.3 percent four years earlier.

A key factor behind the uptick in tourist numbers from Russia is simply that Russians are going abroad much more as the economy grows and the middle class expands.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, there was a 31 percent increase in outbound tourism from Russia last year. By comparison, most major Western countries showed only a single-digit increase or decrease in overseas travel. Among large nations, only China, at 42 percent, showed faster growth than Russia.

Some factors are encouraging Russians to look at Europe in particular. In an interview last year, Rostislav Vondruška, head of CzechTourism, said it had become easier for Russians to secure visas for travel here.

The Czech Republic is popular with Russians, according to Mustafa Türk, general manager of Stefftour, which organizes trips in the country, because they feel "comfortable" here. "The historical excursions, for most of them it's a new experience, plus shopping," he said. "They like Czech crystal and … fashions and textiles."

January, one of the biggest months for Russian tourism to the Czech Republic, saw an approximately 50 percent increase in the number of Russians staying at the InterContinental Hotel Prague compared with the same month in 2012, according to public relations manager Petra Kazdová.

"They are combining Prague with Karlovy Vary and other spa towns," she said.

At the Corinthia Hotel Prague, 60 percent to 70 percent of guests during January were Russians, said Jana Sosa, the marketing manager, although during the whole year they rank seventh or eighth compared with other nationalities.

"Definitely we saw an increase [in Russian visitors] in 2012," she said.

While the number of Germans visiting the Czech Republic is more than twice the number of Russians, the latter stay longer on average, typically around seven days. In the first nine months of last year, Russians accounted for 15.9 percent of overnight stays in the country, according to ATOR, while 21.8 percent of overnight stays were by Germans.

Russians are helping to drive the expansion in passenger numbers that some regional Czech airports are enjoying. Notably, Pardubice, where 80 percent of passengers are Russian, saw an increase in passenger number of 92 percent last year.

Mottershead said TUI has been able to "create demand" from Russians "waiting to be introduced to the market" by operating its own flights through sister charter airline Kolavia. A one-week package tour costs 7,500 Kč on average.

The number of Russians coming to the Czech Republic is predicted to continue to increase, partly because currently most tour operators focus on trips out of Moscow, so the regions offer vast untapped potential.

"There are 140 million people living in Russia, of which the Moscow airports support about 20 million. That's the amount of people looking to fly from Moscow," said Mottershead.

"There are probably 15 to 20 major cities in Russia with more than 1 million living in them. … This is also a great opportunity. We want to grow more but it has to come from other cities."

A similar expansion by tour operators outside the major cities in China is one of the reasons why China's outbound tourism industry is also growing exponentially each year.

Chinese are coming to the Czech Republic in ever greater numbers, with last year's increase expected to be about 15 percent up on 2011's total of 108,000 when figures are finalized.

Daniel Bardsley can be reached at
business@praguepost.com