Turkish Airlines ready to meet tourism boom into Russia

The Kuwaiti tourism delegation poses for a photograph

KUWAIT: In collaboration with Turkish Airlines, Basel Aero and Toronto Travel & Tourism Co, the Russian Tourism Office in Kuwait organized a trip for representatives of Kuwaiti travel agents to the Russian city of Sochi on the Black Sea. During the visit, the delegation met a number of officials in the Russian government and tourism sector to discuss enhancing cooperation and organizing trips for Kuwaiti tourists to Sochi during the summer, winter and other holidays. The delegation also toured a number of hotels and apartment buildings such as the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rosa Khutor and Gorki resorts.

Sochi's deputy mayor Sergey Yurchenko said the city annually receives seven million tourists. It has a hotel capacity of 100,000 rooms. He added that it is a modern destination with highly developed infrastructure overlooking the Black Sea, where various water sports are played. He said the city has 50 mineral water springs and one of the largest spas, in addition to luxury ski resorts, which make it the Russian 'Switzerland'.

Yurchenko invited Kuwaiti tourists to place Sochi on their destination plans, especially during the summer, where they can enjoy its weather with temperatures varying between 20 degrees on the Black Sea coast and minus five degrees on the mountains. Yurchenko pointed out that there are many potential touristic cooperation opportunities with Kuwait, as the city is ready to host conferences due to its security and low population of only 400,000. He added that the city can also host Kuwaiti sports teams, as it hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics and will host 2018 World Cup games.

Basel Aero's commercial manager Asyat Hasanova expressed her keenness on cooperating with Kuwaitis to operate direct flights and provide them with all needed facilities. Head of the Russian national tourist office in Kuwait Basel Al-Osoud emphasized the Russian side's keenness on promoting Russian touristic destinations in Kuwait and GCC states, especially during the summer, in addition to providing all requirements for Islamic tourism and family needs.

Representing Yaish Travel, Osoud stressed that Sochi is qualified to become a major destination for around half a million Kuwaiti tourists who annually spend around $13 billion. He noted that other Arabs residing in Kuwait were also expected to visit Russia, because more than one Arab football team has qualified for the World Cup. Turkish Airlines stressed its keenness on meeting the expected tourism boom into Russia from various GCC states, since Turkish Airlines flies to Moscow, Sochi, Kazan, St Petersburg and other cities. The airline also announced its readiness to increase its destinations after boosting its fleet from 298 to 421 aircraft by 2020.