Yerevan is among top velvet season destinations for Russian travelers
YEREVAN, October 8. /ARKA/. The Southern Russian resort city of Sochi on the Black Sea coast and Armenia’s capital Yerevan are among top velvet season destinations for the Russian travellers, TASS news agency reported, citing the Yandex.Travel service’s data on air tickets purchased for both destinations from September 1 to October 15 in 2021 and in 2020.
"The top popular velvet season vacation destinations chosen by Russia travelers in 2021 did not change compared to 2020. And each of them was chosen by even more travelers: the number of Russians choosing Sochi increased by 26% compared to 2020. The number of those choosing Moscow grew by 33%, St. Petersburg - by 33%. The top popular foreign destinations include Yerevan (Armenia), Istanbul (Turkey), Antalya (Turkey), Chisinau (Moldova), Larnaca (Cyprus), Burgas (Bulgaria) and Dalaman (Turkey) ",according to Ynadex.Travel.
Analysts associate such a set of popular foreign travel destinations with the influence of the coronavirus pandemic, saying many of the previously chosen destinations of the velvet season abroad are simply inaccessible now to most Russian travelers.
“On the one hand, tourists just go to those directions which are not banned and are easier to get to, taking into account the Covid-19 situation. On the other hand, more familiar destinations like Turkey, Cyprus or Armenia are being restored faster than others."
The popularity of Istanbul, Antalya and Dalaman is two to three times higher than in 2019. In 2021, Russians are extending the summer season by flying abroad cheaper than in 2020, for example, to Yerevan: the average cost of round-trip air tickets decreased by 35% - from 27,850 to 18,300 rubles. -0-
