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citizens to Russia, the minister suggested. In 2017, Russians spent more than $31bn abroad, which is 30% more than a year earlier, while tourists in Russia spent about $9bn, said Oreshkin. Moreover, as previously considered by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), Moscow received more than half of all tourist income in Russia - $5.4bn. The demand for travel services is growing by tens of% annually, but tourists do not spend money in Russia, but leave for vacation abroad, the minister acknowledged. Oreshkin is sure that within 5-6 years tourists will spend more than $20bn in Russia if they fulfill the conditions offered by him. The WTTC forecast was less optimistic: by 2027, Moscow’s earnings should have grown only by 19% to $6.3bn (the council did not give a forecast for the country).
The cost of holidays for Russians in Turkey could increase by over 30% in 2019, Vedomosti daily reported on November 11 citing the acting head of Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR) Maya Lomidze. Reportedly, many Turkish hotels have already informed Russian tour operators of the imminent price hikes, while the cost of charter flights could also increase. So far the price increase for the hotels amounted to 10-15%. In 2018 so far the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey has been a record-high 5.12mn people as of September, up by 24% year-on-year. Russia imposed a ban on charter flights to Turkey in 2015 after the downing of a Russian jet near the Syrian border. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Turkey subsequently shrank by 30% y/y to 25.4mn in 2016.
Over 6.4mn tourists have visited the Crimea since the beginning of the year, a record figure for the entire post-Soviet period, said Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the region Vadim Volchenko at 3rd All-Russian Congress of Tour Operators and Travel Agents in Russia on November 20. At the moment, the number of tourists is 6.4mn people. This season is considered the most successful for the entire post-Soviet period. The previous record was set in 2012, when 6.1mn people visited Crimea," he said. Volchenko noted that "more than 1mn tourists - 16% of the total flow - arrived across the border with Ukraine." "This is 18% more than for all of 2017," he clarified. The introduction of a new passenger terminal at Simferopol’s airport, together with measures taken to bolster the region’s tourist attractiveness, have led to a surge in demand for holidays in Crimea and a 30% increase in tourist traffic. Since the beginning of the year, the peninsula has received 6.3mn people, which is a record. By the end of the year, 6.5mn tourists are expected to have visited Crimea, which will be a maximum for the entire post-Soviet period, according to Oleg Safonov, head of Russian Federal Tourism Agency said at the Congress.
9.1.10 Utilities sector news
System Operator has released its 3Q18 analysis of electricity sector balance and power glut continues. According to the report, in 9mo18, total installed capacity in Russia increased by 1.7% from YE17 to 244GW, driven by 4GW of commissioning and only 0.236GW of decommissioning. Key commissioned units include the Kaliningrad CHPs of Rosneftegaz, InterRAO's Zatonskaya CHP, Rosatom’s 1.1GW unit at Rostovskaya NPP, Crimea units and other. Along with that, total electricity production increased by 1.4% y/y to 779,274mn kWh vs. a 1.5% y/y increase on the demand side. Thus, utilisation rates improved across all fuel types except nuclear capacities (44.55% for fossil-fuel generation, 44.34% for hydro, 17.15% for wind, 17.44% for solar and 76.45% for nuclear generation). The released statistics confirm that the
94 RUSSIA Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com