Russians in Istanbul again, but not for “suitcase tourism” this time

Russians have been coming back to Istanbul at an increasing rate for a while. Four airlines started flights to Istanbul. The current arrivals are not for the purpose of trading in suitcases though, but for shopping for themselves, for cultural purposes, sightseeing and entertainment. Due to the increased demand, tour operators put charter flights in Istanbul from Russia. Suitcase trade is also now done over the Internet.

Laleli neighborhood in Turkey was receiving tourists from Russia, one of the two main markets in tourism for the country, for suitcase-trading in 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviets. When they discovered Antalya for holidays later, Istanbul was not trendy for them anymore. Recently though, Russians have been coming back to Istanbul at an increasing rate, for a while. The current arrivals are not for the purpose of suitcase trade this time, but for shopping (shopping), culture, sightseeing and entertainment for themselves. Due to the increased demand, tour operators put charter flights from Russia to Istanbul. Suitcase trade is also now done over the Internet.

NUMBER OF AIRLINE COMPANIES WITH CHARTER FLIGHTS TO ISTANBUL INCREASES

Due to the growing interest in Istanbul package programs, tour operators have put charter flights. Every day a new one is added to the airline companies that have started flights to Istanbul. Following Rossiya, Azimuth and IRAERO, Red Wings will also start flights from Sochi to Istanbul from November 26. Thus, the number of airline companies flying from Russia to Istanbul will increase to four.

The increasing interest of Russians in Istanbul was also reflected in the figures. Russians accounted for 10.59 percent of foreign visitors to Istanbul in September. Russians took the first place with 170 thousand people among those who came to Istanbul in September.

SOURCE: dunya.com/ekonomi/ruslar-yeniden-istanbulda-ama-bavul-turizmi-icin-degil-haberi-674148