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Number of Russian outbound tourists sinks 20%

"We have been recording a decline in outbound flows for the third consecutive year," Vice President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Yuri Barzykin said

MOSCOW, December 26 /TASS/. The number of Russian outbound tourists dropped by 20% in the first 10 months of 2016, Yuri Barzykin, Vice President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, stated at Monday’s press conference at TASS.

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"We have been recording a decline in outbound flows for the third consecutive year," Barzykin said. "Yes, we have seen progress on separate destinations, mainly Mediterranean nations such as Cyprus, Greece and Spain. But on the whole, the outbound tourism market has suffered an almost 20% decrease," Barzykin noted.

"The same trend prevails during the Christmas and New Year seasons though a stabilized foreign exchange rate and some allegiances made by the host nations are stimulating demand. Nevertheless, we should not bank on this," the tourism executive stressed.

"If we want to obtain certain achievements during the next travel season, we need to step up state regulation by means of control and (market-TASS) support, and certainly with the help of new products, new programs and new destinations," the Russian tourism official concluded.

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