PALMA
THE Balearics welcomed a total of 15'769 Russian tourists, in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 12.4 percent in comparison with the same period of 2006, according to the Balearic Minister for Tourism, speaking yesterday.
The Balearic Institute of Tourism (Ibatur) had a meeting in St Petersburg with 67 travel agents and tour operators to promote the Balearic Islands as a tourist destination.
There were more than 125 people who heard at first hand what the Balearics have to offer tourists.
According to figures from the Spanish Office of Tourism (OET) in Moscow, Russia is the European country with the greatest growth in tourism and Spain is their third most popular destination, after Turkey and Egypt.
The Russian tourist has a high spending capacity and the forecast is that this year the number of Russian tourists visiting Spain will increase by 15 to 20 percent.
The Balearic Islands last year received a total of 27'777 Russian tourists, which was 27.4 percent more than in 2005.
As occurred in the Ibatur meeting in Moscow, the St Petersburg presentation was preceded by a workshop where those present made professional contacts with the companies in the Balearic tourist sector who were travelling with Ibatur. At these meetings were the Majorcan Tourist Board, the Ibizan Tourist Board, the Formentera Tourist Board, the Majorcan Hoteliers Federation, the Balearic Golf Courses Association and the Balearic Agrotourism Association.
The director general of Tourist Promotion, Joan Sastre, explained to those present the attractions offered by the islands to Russian tourists and encouraged all the travel agents to promote the Balearics to their clients as a tourist destination.
Sastre also took the opportunity to find out how these professionals work.
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