Tour Operator: Travel Companies Losing Out on Russian Boom
While Estonia's hotels, restaurants and shops will be cashing in on what is expected to be a record number of Russian tourists coming for the New Year's holiday, local tour operators will be missing the party, according to the director of one such firm.
Aleksander Tsherepkov, head of Estintour, told Delovye Vedomosti that changes in the business mean that Estonian tour operators are increasingly cut out of the annual influx of visitors – and cash – from the east.
Whereas earlier Estonian operators would be the principal provider of service packages covering accommodation, transport and tour programs, the new trend is for the tourists to book through Russian tour operators or via the internet, he said.
Tsherepkov also noted that hotels are now taking over the business of organizing New Year's events for the visitors. "Ten years ago we were the first to organize special holiday events for Russian tourists. Now a lot [of hotels] are doing it," he said.
Other developments are making the services of inbound tour operators increasingly irrelevant for the Russian tourist market, said Tsherepkov.
"There's no longer any problem with multiple-entry visas since Finland is giving them out left and right, and a lot of Russians are coming to stay with relatives or friends, so they don't need tour operators," he said.
Steve Roman