Last year in Russia, the demand for tourist trips abroad increased by 19.7%. As a result, residents of the country bought vouchers for almost 2 trillion rubles.

This is equivalent to 3% of GDP. Such data leads the Moscow International Currency AssociationTourist industry last year grew at times faster than all other spheres of the economy. For comparison, the turnover of retail trade, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, increased for the year only by 1.2% - to 29.8 trillion rubles. The explosive growth of tourism was helped by the strengthening of the ruble. Over the past year, the dollar has fallen in price to the Russian currency by 3%, to 58 rubles. The second important reason was the economic recovery. In 2017 year. Russia's GDP grew by 1.5% after two years of decline. The citizens felt noticeable improvements and incurred money from travel agencies, "Izvestia". Over the past year, real incomes have decreased by 1.7%. But real wages increased by 3% (this year, according to the forecasts of the Ministry of Finance, they will grow even more, by 4%). Experts explain that it was more important for citizens namely wage growth, rather than falling incomes. "Real incomes include pensions that have been little indexed, as well as income from property and deposits. But the decision on the cost of travel is more likely to affect the size of the salary. The economy is recovering, and I believe that the observed consumer and credit activity is just the beginning, "- said the main analyst of the Savings Bank, Mikhail Matovnikov. Specialists also note that the growth of the number of tourist trips was facilitated by the opening of the Turkish direction, which, due to its cheapness, enjoys special love among Russians. Like, in 2015, with problems in the economy and the closure of Turkey with Egypt, there was a catastrophic collapse, and in 2016 the industry steadily lay on the bottom. Against this background, in the past year, there was a rapid growth. In this situation, only one thing saddens: the lion's share of the funds spent on tourism, flowed out of the country and went to foreign suppliers of goods and services. The monetary association was told that foreign tourist trips belong to the category of import services. Even if a ticket is purchased from a Russian tour operator and a citizen flies on vacation by a Russian airline, tourists receive the bulk of the services abroad and pay them in foreign currency. That is why the industry is so sensitive to fluctuations in exchange rates. Ruble fell - trips could not be afforded. The ruble has strengthened - the number of services that citizens can afford abroad has increased. A special role was played by the psychological factor. Travel abroad is an important indicator of well-being. Russians want to convince themselves and others that they are all right. When the life a little improved, many began to actively buy Turputevki. For this, people are even ready to save on products and goods of daily demand. This year, Russians will spend even more on foreign trips. First, the economy continues to grow. Secondly, with a probability of 99.9%, the super popular Egyptian direction will open. Prices for tours will drop a little, and demand will grow by 15-20%, believes the director of the association "Tourist Board" Alexander Osaulenko.