11/08/2019 16:27

Official Delegations Only

[IMG=19721-5476] Three days in July – 15th, 16th and 17th – when Pulkovo Airport will welcome only official delegations arriving to G8 Summit, will provoke changes within tour programs with a departure from St. Petersburg. At present experts interviewed by a BANKO correspondent do not rush into estimating losses. However, the majority of experts believe that it is necessary to find alternative ways to minimize them. Some travel companies cancel tours for the period, others – make changes to programs. Thus, Elena Naidenova, General Director Deputy of Transbusinessline, said: ‘at the moment we do not have bookings for the period of the Summit but most probably we will change charter flights for later dates’. Elena Sadkova, General Director Deputy of Neva Travel Company, said: ‘the main problem refers mainly to such popular destinations as Turkey and Greece. Some of them will be cancelled, others – put off for later period. As we did not receive more concrete information from the Airport Administration Neva stopped sales for the period. Besides, some flights scheduled for Thursday, Monday and Tuesday, will be cancelled owing to the Airport not being able to cope with the increased load’. According to Yaroslav Nikitenko, the expenses caused by the Summit for travel industry of St. Petersburg might be considerable, as tourists will hardly want to change their plans for holidays. ‘The fact that we have only one airport in St. Petersburg adds to difficulties’, explained Nikitenko. Nevertheless, in general local tour operators and travel agents feel optimistic towards the hot July days, preparing for them in advance.