Hotel owners want more Russian tourists

HOTEL owners in Playa de Palma consider that Russia is a “very important” market for tourism in Mallorca, with 20 million medium to high earners who spend an average of 900 euros per day when on holiday. This year around 23'000 Russian tourists came to the islands and these Majorcan hotel owners see a very good future for this target market.
They estimate that between 20 and 25 percent of the hotel rooms in Playa de Palma will be booked by Russian tourists in the future, said the President of this hotel association, Francesc Marin. The President was one of the hotel representatives at a meeting which was presided by the Minister for Presidency in the Council of Majorca, Francesc Buils. This meeting was held to discuss past advertising campaigns which target this emerging market, as well as analysing what campaigns will be best for next year. The first conclusions were that they will keep up with the familiarisation trips for Russian journalists and travel agents, and also develop a specific advertisement campaign. The Russian market is very interesting, in terms of the culture and shopping habits, said Marilén Pol, another hotel representative.
Russian tourists spend an average 10 to 14 days on holiday, which is a little longer than other tourists, as they start arriving in May and stop coming in either November or December. However, there are problems to still overcome before an increased number of Russian tourists can truely flock to the islands.
These being the lack of easily available flights between Russia and the Balearic Islands, and the visa difficulties.