Direct flight enlivened the demand for Carinthia’s lakes

The demand for summer trips to Austria has grown significantly this year. Some players record a growth of sales of a minimum of 150% compared to the same period last year. According to the destination’s top manager from Ascent Travel Company Mr. Rodion Nasyrov, the dash of interest emerged thanks to the new charter program, organized in cooperation with Jet Travel. The program implies a direct flight from Moscow to Klagenfurt, the capital city of Carinthia. The weekly service is operated every Saturday by “AK BARS Aero” airline.

“The tourists used to get to Carinthia by a regular Austrian Airlones’ flight to Vienna and then by a smaller aircraft to Klagenfurt” – says Mr. Nasyrov. The shortest stop-over in Vienna was 1.5-2 hours, sometimes up to 4-6 hours. “It had its advantages – the tourists could have a walk in Vienna some shopping. Now the flight takes around three hours. The timing is convinient – the plane leaves Moscow at 10:15 and thanks to the time difference reaches Klagenfurt at 11:00.

The company has already had a similar charter flight in 2002. And now it has been decided to bring the program back to life in order to liven the demand. According to Mr. Nasyrov the offere went well – the direct flight became an extra impetus in favor of the trips to Austria and the cost of an itinerary went down by €150-200. The accommodation prices remain on the previous season’s level. An average one-week itinerary including airfare and 3-star hotel on a bed and breakfast basis costs €600-700, 4-star half board goes for €1100-1200.

The Russians are choosing combined trips more often now, they wish to combine beach holiday with sightseeing trips to the country;s major cities, for example the they spend 3-4 days in Vienna, another 2-3 days in Salzburg or Graz and a week at a lake. Those who return to Austria usualy book the hotel they have already stayed at and had a chance to appreciate the extents of service. These are Seehotel Europa 4*, Strandhotel Morak 3* at Wuertersee, Carinthia’s largest lake. “This season we expanded the hotels selection with new objects and the customers are already booking them quite well” – adds Mr. Nasyrov.