Gennady Kosarev, Sales Director at VKO Travel also notes the demand for ski tours, which he says have seen a 30% increase this year in comparison with last year, and up to 6% higher than 2008.

Maya Lomidze, CEO at Association of Tour Operators of Russia, the numbers are encouraging, reflecting a stabilization of the economy, but also reflect a low base from the collapse of the tourism market over a year ago.

“In part that was due to stabilizing income of people in Russia, who feel more relaxed to spend on holidays this year than a year before. But such positive dynamics can be also explained by a low base effect, as last winter Russia’s tourist market dropped by 30% to 2008. However, despite this good statistics, it’s too early to talk about a complete recovery to a pre crisis level.”

Lomidze says the standout performance of the Egypt and Bulgarian markets over the course of 2009 reflects their rapid response to the unfolding economic downturn.

“The situation differs depending on the country of destination, with Egypt and Bulgaria, for example, performing better due to their quick reaction on toughening conditions. So, Egypt started to cut its prices by summer 2008 and in 2009 it went down by 15 – 20%, less than the average for the market. Bulgaria in turn could have fallen by half in 2009, as the country had some visa issues, which was coupled by with higher price. However it coped with the problems and managed to remain flat during the year.”