Russian tour operators question demand for charters in Uzbekistan

Russian tour operators doubt that charters to Uzbekistan will be in demand due to weak interest in the destination and insufficient mass tourist flow, Interfax reports.

Earlier it was reported that the airports of Uzbekistan from October 1 will be open for charter flights for tourists. For each attracted tourist who stays in the republic for at least five days, a subsidy of $20 in the summer season and $50 in the winter will be paid. Thus, the foreign tourist inflow will be brought up to 10 million people a year (now it is about 6 million).

According to tour operators, Uzbekistan is unlikely to become a charter destination in the Russian market due to the specifics of the product (sightseeing tours) and due to low demand. According to the Border Service of the Russian FSB, in 2018, about 180,000 Russians left for Uzbekistan, including 37,000 people with tourist purposes. 

“The prospect of loading a charter for 150 seats in the same direction (Bukhara) seems doubtful even during the season, let alone the winter period. In winter, it will not be possible to load the seats, 80% of tours to Uzbekistan fall on April-September,” the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) says.

According to players of the tourist market, there will not be such profit on the Uzbek charters that will cover all the costs of organizing charter programs. There are other costs – marketing directions and training travel agents.

“To promote the direction on the Russian market, a number of measures are needed. At the start of the program, subsidies for each tourist should be increased from $20 to $40-50, and when the market “tries out” the novelty, the amount of payments can be reduced. And the cost of a round-trip flight should be at the level of 10-12 thousand rubles – then the demand for tours to Uzbekistan can grow by tens of percent,” the ATOR noted.

Now, trips to the country for Russians are quite expensive – the minimum price for a flight to Tashkent from Moscow and back in the low season is 20,000 rubles. The cost for a weekly tour is at least $950. In general, the share of sales of tours to Uzbekistan by tour operators is less than 1 percent, demand is stagnating.

“With regard to the conditions for the payment of subsidies, according to which a foreign tourist must stay in the country for at least five nights, it will not be difficult for its tour operators. Most often, Russians buy tours to Uzbekistan for 8 days/7 nights, the proportion of such “armor” reaches 75%,” the association concluded.