The ruble is falling – what will happen to the demand for tours and the cost of air tickets
The Russian currency began to fall again after the spring shake-up. Amid the threat of new US sanctions on August 9, the dollar exchange rate for the first time since November 2016 was able to overcome 66 rubles.
The Central Bank set official quotes for August 10: 66.29 rubles per dollar and 76.83 rubles per euro, which is 2.69 and 3.01 rubles more than August 9. On the Moscow stock exchange, the dollar in the morning, August 9, reached the value of 66.65 rubles, and the euro - 77.27 rubles.
Experts of the travel industry believe that the consequences can begin now: the preliminary sale of tours for the winter may stop, although it has just started.
Olga Ivanova, PR director of the management company of the United TBG Network and Hot Tours, reports that customers are in a hurry to pay for previously booked applications for the next dates and flights until October. It is understandable that tourists are afraid of the next increase in exchange rates.
The first statistics that show the impact of the new ruble devaluation on demand – both for the remaining two months of the summer season and for early winter bookings – will appear soon.
The growth of foreign exchange rates will affect the price of air tickets to foreign destinations no earlier than August 15, when the cost of air transportation will rise by 5%. This is stated by Dmitry Gorin, transport adviser to the head of the Federal Agency for Tourism.
He says that the conversion rate for international air travel changes once a week on Wednesdays, based on the last Monday rate.
“A number of tour operators set their course within the framework of tour packages, as there the price changes every day. In aviation, this happens once a week. If the growth trend of the dollar and the euro continues, then from August 15, air tickets will rise by 5%.