Dubai tourism board expects 20 percent jump in Russian tourists this year

As curtains are down on the Moscow Autumn Travel Industry Week (MATIW) or "Leisure 2012", the 74 participants of Dubai Pavilion there are expecting a 20% rise in the number of Russian tourists to Dubai by the end of the year as compared to 2011.

Participants at the Dubai Pavilion felt bullish about the results to come from the Moscow Autumn Travel Industry Week. Photo by Keirn.

Fadi Boustany, Editor-in-Chief of Aviamost magazine, attributed the rise to 40% increase in the number of seats on most flights between Dubai and Moscow and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

George Moussa, Chairman, Planet Group, said new airlines, Thai Airways and SriLankan Airlines for example, are set to fly tourists between Moscow and Dubai.