Humphrey Carter19/03/2014 00:00
TW
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Palma.—And, this year the Balearics are going to be one of the new countries with its own stand at the trade fair along with the Canaries, although the President of Valencia, Alberto Fabra, has cancelled his official visit to the event in protest over Russia’s actions.

The big question is how the conflict over Crimea is going to hit the Russian tourist industry this year.

The Ukrainian market has already been hit, one tour operators has cancelled its entire Balearic programme while Russians have watched the Ruble devalue which has made holidays much more expensive.

Last year, 1.3 million Russians came to Spain on holidays, 20 percent more than in 2012.One million of them chose Catalonia while 133,182 came to the Balearics and apparently spent 26 percent more than they did in 2012.

The Canaries are also a popular destination and the region has already posted an 11 percent increase in Russian tourists during the first two months of this year with nearly 16,000 heading to the islands.

But, last year nearly 47 million Russians went on holiday and Spain’s top destinations, such as the Balearics, do not want to miss out on the growing market.

And, to show how committed the Balearics are to the Russian market, the regional President, Jose Ramon Bauza is planning on visiting the fair accompanied by the Balearic Minister for Tourism, Jaime Martinez, for talks with leading tour operators and airlines.

The Grup Serra, which publishes the Majorca Daily Bulletin, will also be part of the Balearic delegation promoting the organisation Russian newspaper Vesti and its tourism TV channel Lux Mallorca 365.

According to industry sources, holiday bookings to Spain this Summer have fallen by 15 percent since the conflict with the Ukraine broke out.

But, the National Union of Travel Agents said yesterday that, under the current climate, the perspectives for the Russian market this year remain encouraging, although should the situation worsen then the market will change dramatically and Catalonia, the most popular destination with the Russians, stands to be the hardest hit.