Number of Russian tourists to Turkey exceeds forecast

MOSCOW (AA) - The number of tourists from Russia to Turkey has exceeded our forecast for the last two months, head of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Maya Lomidze, said on Thursday.

Speaking in a press conference in Moscow, Lomidze said over 300,000 Russians had spent their holidays in Turkey between September and October, tripling their expectations of 100,000 tourists for the period.

Tourists from Russia had stopped coming to Turkey after the Turkish military downed a Russian fighter jet in November last year; Russia had imposed sanctions ranging from tourism to investments on Turkey.

Lomidze said Turkey had again become a favorite destination for Russian tourists after the ban on charter flights was revoked at the end of August.