An alternative beach holiday destination was found for Russian tourists. We are talking about tropical Venezuela, which, like Russia, is also under sanctions. Although the flight to the Caribbean is long, the daily expenses in the country itself are quite democratic and do not exceed those in Turkey. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency and Rostourism, the Venezuelan airline plans to expand regular and charter flights between the countries in the spring of 2022. Tourism representatives also discussed the development of cooperation, security issues for Russian tourists.
As a result of the meeting between the head of the Russian department, Alexander Neradko, and the Minister of People's Power for Tourism of Venezuela, Ali Paredes, on March 18, plans were made to expand the geography of flights between the parties and increase the number of direct flights.
At the moment, the current schedule for the coming season the following:
- In winter, regular flights between the Russian Federation and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela were operated by the Conviasa airline on the route Caracas – Moscow with a frequency of once every 15 days. Since April, flights will become more frequent: once a week.
- The domestic air carrier Ikar operated flights on the route Moscow – Porlamar (Margarita) with a frequency of 3 times a week.
- Severny Airlines Veter” carried out cargo-and-passenger non-scheduled flights on the route Moscow – Caracas with a frequency of 1 time per month.
As for charter flights, representatives of both countries discussed this issue as well. In particular, they discussed the launch of a joint charter program to one of the previously popular among Russians, the Venezuelan island of Margarita. Pegas Touristik has announced itself as one of the tour operators ready to participate in the implementation of the flight program.
After a working meeting with the Minister of Tourism of Venezuela, the head of Rostourism, Zarina Doguzova, noted the following: “In particular, two large Russian tour operators are considering the possibility of launching a joint charter program to the Venezuelan island of Margarita. Such a charter program can expand the possibilities of a beach holiday for Russians, especially in the cold season,” she said.
The flow of tourists from Russia to Venezuela before the pandemic was modest: the flight was long and expensive. And besides, before the pandemic, direct regular flights between Russia and Venezuela were not operated, and Margarita Island had to be reached only through third countries. The announced regular flights may make the Caribbean destination more attractive for Russian tourists, especially in the context of sanctions: due to Russia's special operation in Ukraine at the end of February, Europe closed its airspace to Russian aircraft. Domestic airlines, fearing the arrest of leasing aircraft, have suspended most flights abroad on the advice of the Federal Air Transport Agency. Another plus was the news that the Venezuelan authorities announced the possibility of using the card of the Russian payment system “Mir” in the country.
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