Moscow has welcomed 2.5 million tourists in the first half of 2015

Tourist flow in Moscow continues to increase, despite the economic factors and Russian image denigrating in the European tourism market.

Such situation analysis was given by Sergei Shpilko, the first deputy head of the Moscow national policy, interregional relations, and tourism department. All in all Moscow hotels welcomed 2.5 million tourists; and the flow growth amounted about 200 thousand in 2014.

In addition, Chinese flow increased most of all, but the situation with Europeans is also improving progressively, despite the fact that the EU tourism seriously suffered in the first quarter of the year. As Sergei Shpilko said, Russia hasn’t been anti - advertised so hard since the Cuban missile crisis.

 According to the official statistics, the number of people accommodated in Moscow hotels increased; there were 2.3 million in the first half-year, and this half-year there are 2.5 million, said Sergei Shpilko. At the same time, he said that it was referred to Russian tourists, but the number of foreign tourists has also increased, though mostly at the expense of Asian. The last half-year about 40 thousand Chinese tourists visited Russia; in this first half there are 85 thousand of guests of visa-free directions. According to the committee on visa-free regime Moscow has welcomed 130 thousand Chinese tourists during these seven months and it is expected to amount about 200 thousand.

Sergei Shpilko said that the prices of Moscow hotels are by one third lower than the average European level; although Moscow, due to some reasons, isn’t excluded from the list of the most expensive cities.

According to Sergei Shpilko, besides the economic situation and ruble rate, low prices are also provided by intensive hotel building. Before July six hotels are opened in Moscow, including the “new” Moscow territory; and by the end of the year it is planned to build about eighteen hotels with 4515 accommodations. This situation provides high competition and rather low prices.

However the politics heavily damaged the traditional inbound markets. There was a moment of shock; since the Cuban missile crisis Russia didn’t experience such severe anti - advertising. The worst for Russia was the second half of 2014 and first quarter of 2015, in the third quarter the situation began to improve owing to deferred demand. According to Sergey Shpilko, the number of Chinese tourists is the highest since 2013; then come tourists from Germany, Turkey, France, Italy, the US, Britain and Israel. Israel, by the way, holds the 14% growth of tourist flow.

According to Federal State Statistics Service, Moscow is the first among Russian regions in the rating of overnight stays in 2014; the number of overnight stays in Moscow is 1.827 million nights. The second place belongs to St. Petersburg with 900 thousand; the third is for Krasnodar Territory with 288 thousand.

All in all 5.6 million guests stayed in Moscow hotels in 2014; the city is also at the top of this list. The second place is for Krasnodar Territory, 4.4 million tourists visited its hotels. Then comes St. Petersburg with 2.9 million people, Moscow region - 2.7 million, and Tatarstan with 1.6 million.

Note that according to Moscow Tourism Committee, tourists brought considerable income for the city: the hotels earned 55 billion rubles for 2014.