Ukraine skirmish keeping Russians away from Spain

In 2012, Russia’s middle class kept Spain’s tourism industry afloat; today, their numbers are dwindling

Having swelled Spain’s beach resorts, hotels and restaurant numbers in recent years, newly wealthy Russian tourists have stayed away from the country in their droves this summer as Russia teeters on the brink of full-out conflict with its neighbour Ukraine…

In 2012, Russian tourism numbers to Spain increased by a massive 40 per cent, rising a further 32 per cent last year as more than 1.5 million Russians visited Spanish shores.

However, figures from Spain’s hotels association have revealed that their numbers are down dramatically this summer: some 14 per cent in June and 18 per cent in July, despite Spain enjoying a record year of visitors. Early forecasts suggest that August could record a further 20 per cent drop on last year’s figures.

“The main problem is that we weren’t expecting this fall and there are no other groups that take the spots we haven’t sold to the Russians,” said Juan Molas, President of the Spanish hotels association.

Consumer confidence among Russia’s growing middle class has been shattered by the ongoing set-to with Ukraine, which has seen the Crimean peninsula annexed, the city of Donetsk suffer sustained bombardment, and the tragic downing last month of the MH17 Malaysian Airlines plane that killed nearly 300 civilians.

“On the one hand the conflict has strained relations between the EU and Russia,” said Delfi Torms of Barcelona travel firm Serhs Tourism. “On the other hand a trip to a European destination is 17 per cent more expensive for a Russian this year than a year ago.”

Additionally, it has been reported that the Russian government has been urging its populace to take holidays at home this summer in the wake of the crisis.

Spain, despite noticing the shortfall of Russian tourists’ expenditure, is unlikely to be duly affected by this development. The country registered 1.3 million more foreign visitors in the first quarter of the year this year when compared to 2013, and the summer season is already on course to become the busiest in almost a decade.

More than 3.1 million Brits are expected to visit Spain this year, up by 6.5 per cent on 2013, while the number of Germans visiting Spain will increase to 2.51 million – an 11 per cent rise in the space of the last 12 months.