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Promotur Turismo de Canarias attended the 26th annual generalist Moscow International Travel & Tourism Fair (MITT) between 12th and 14th March, with the aim of presenting its range of island holiday destinations both to final consumers and agents from the Russian tourism industry. This is considered one of the most important events of its kind to be held in Russia and the Community of Independent States, with numbers of people attending rising every year, with 23,000 professional visitors, nearly 2,000 stands and around 100 participating countries.

The Canary Islands welcomed 114,326 tourists from Russia in 2018, according to figures released by Frontur. The Russian market has suffered over the last few years due to economic recession, the depreciation of the ruble, conflict in Ukraine and the falling prices of hydrocarbon which has led to the drop in international travel by Russian citizens. Despite all this, and according to figures by the Russian State Tourist Agency, Rostourism, Spain occupied third place in market share in 2017 in terms of tourist travel, behind Turkey and Thailand but ahead of Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

Greater average spend

The profile of Russian tourists is characterized by their greater average daily spend compared to other nationalities, this being 151.90 euros compared to 140.18 euros. They also stay at the resort for longer, up to five days more than the rest, this being 14.07 days as opposed to the 9.17 days of other markets. Besides this, turnover per tourist and trip is also higher, 1.846 euros compared to the average 1.155, given that Russians buy more during their holidays, both on non-food items and supermarket shopping, on organized excursions, leisure and entertainment. Likewise, Tenerife receives most Russian visitors, mainly due to its good connectivity with direct flights between the island and Moscow.  

Specifically, according to figures released by Frontur, out of the total of 114,326 tourists coming to the islands from Russia, 92,275 of them visited Tenerife, 11,720 travelled to Gran Canaria, while 2,851 came to Lanzarote and a further 1,779 visited Fuerteventura. Finally, the rest of the 5,701 travellers from Russia shared the islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.

As for accommodation, an above average number of these tourists prefer five-star hotels, this being 13.6% compared to the average 6.8%. They choose the Canary Islands for its fine climate, sun, beaches and landscapes, in keeping with other incoming markets, except in terms of holiday “spend” where they are above the rest (5.9% compared to 2.5%). Many come through friends’ and relatives’ recommendations, or by information obtained on the internet.

Positive growth forecasts

During this year’s MITT Fair, the Turismo de Canarias delegation was able to see that despite the local Government’s attempts to promote the country’s internal tourism, Russians continue to travel to Spain, and forecasts for growth are highly positive, as the regular airline capacity programmed for this summer is 74,644 seats on direct flights from Moscow to Tenerife Sur, an increase of 44.8% compared to last summer. In this sense, efforts both by Turismo de Canarias and the administrations on each island are focusing on consolidating existing routes as well as opening up other new ones, as is the case of Gran Canaria, as it searches for market diversification.  

At the Moscow tourist fair, the Canary Islands brand shared the pavilion with Turespaña, manning five stands comprising the tourism offers from Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. This stand was 85% co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).