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No mass flow of Russian tourists to Turkey expected — tourism agency

A Russian tourism official says Turkey needs to do much to regain Russians’ trust

ST. PETERSBURG, July 6. /TASS/. The flow of Russian tourists to Turkey will not be massive, as this country should do a lot to regain Russians’ trust, Sergei Korneyev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), has said.

"I do not forecast the mass flow," he told reporters in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. "Turkey needs to do much to regain Russians’ trust, including in terms of security."

According to Korneyev, restoring tourism ties with Turkey will be "a gradual process." "A lot will depend on the activity of the Turks in the first place," he said. "Whether this will be implemented in some holiday trips will depend on numerous factors, first and foremost, on what Turkey will do to prove its safety and comfort. Now the situation is to a large extent in the hands of the Turkish side. It was given an opportunity to regain Russian tourists’ trust, because those who have chosen other counties during this period of time came back happy too."

Korneyev added that Turkey’s return to the Russian tourism market is unlikely to affect the domestic resorts, since people are interested in different types of tourism. "That means healthy competition for our Black Sea resorts and price-related competition, as many of our hotels are literally ‘dizzy with success.’ That’s the reason for revising the prices," he said.