
More than 50,000 people have lost their jobs in the tourism sector or changed their activity to another, the Association of Tour Operators of RUSSIA (ATOR) reported.
According to ATOR, during the pandemic, the number of legal entities-tour operators in the country decreased by 278, or 6% (in March, more than 4.5 thousand companies were listed in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators). Of these, more than 100 companies worked in the field of outbound tourism. According to the results of the year, the association estimated the decline in the industry's income at 60%.
The number of travel agencies decreased by 30%, about 5-6 thousand stopped working. Approximately 3,000 more were either left without offices, or the space for them was reduced.
ATOR called the deadline for the resumption of inbound tourism in Russia Society
After the lockdown in the spring and summer, tour operators have been working mainly with the five main tourist destinations open in August and September, Maya Lomidze, executive DIRECTOR of the association, said. These are Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Cuba, the Maldives and Tanzania, including Zanzibar. This year, these countries accounted for 2.153 million tourists from Russia, she specified.