Russian travelers are \'more confident and independent\'

Russians spent $43bn in travel abroad With rising spending power and about 40 days of paid and public holidays -- more than many other countries in the world -- Russian travelers are emerging as an increasingly important market with potential for influencing the tourism landscape .
According to a new survey released by online booking site Hotels.com, Russia is now the world’s second-fastest outgoing travel market in spending: last year, globetrotting Russians spent $43 billion in travel abroad.
In 2012, 35.7 million Russians also undertook a trip outside their country -- an impressive leap from 7.7 million in 2006.
And though most Russians don’t yet hold international passports, with a population of 140 million, the untapped travel market in the country is huge, the report notes.
Until recently, the top holiday destinations were almost exclusively within the Eastern bloc due to travel restrictions. But Russian travelers are also becoming increasingly confident and independent, venturing futher afield, said Hotels.com president Johan Svanstrom.
Their most popular travel destination? Paris, followed by Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Prague.
Overall, European destinations dominate the list of top overseas destinations for Russia. The lone Asian representative on the top 20 ranking is Thailand.
The report also found that nearly half (49 percent) of international hoteliers polled said they’ve seen an increase in the number of Russian guests at their properties. Of that number, 32 percent said they experienced an 11 to 25 percent spike.
A newly released report out of the European Travel Commission for the first three quarters of 2013 corroborates Hotel.com's findings, likewise describing Russia as an increasingly important market.
“Travel demand from Russia persists at high growth levels, turning this market into a consistent source of visitors for a growing number of ETC destinations,” the report reads.
The ETC notes that travel to Greece has also been especially strong this year: Russia now comprises almost 9 percent of inbound travelers to the Mediterranean country.
Preliminary numbers out of the ETC report show that 41.1 million tourists traveled from Russia this year, with the majority -- 31.6 million or 77 percent -- deciding to spend their money in Europe.
Source: Relaxnews