Venezuelan Tourism Minister Ali PadrĂłn in an interview with the Russian media Sputnik. Photo: Sputnik.
Venezuela and Russia are planning to increase air connectivity, reported Venezuelan Minister of Tourism AlĂ PadrĂłn. He stated this on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, currently going on in St. Petersburg, Russia, in which he is participating as the head of the Venezuelan government delegation.
“We are planning the development of air connections beyond Moscow, especially with the cities of St. Petersburg and Kazan,” PadrĂłn told the Russian state media Sputnik. “In fact, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in Venezuela recently, he met with President Nicolás Maduro and they agreed on increasing air connectivity.”
PadrĂłn said that 40% of the tourists who fly from Moscow to Venezuela are not from Moscow, but from other regions, mostly from St. Petersburg.
Currently, Venezuela and Russia maintain direct flights from Moscow to Porlamar-Margarita and Caracas. PadrĂłn pointed out that the Russian flights to Venezuela always arrive with 100% occupancy. “They arrive at 100% capacity. It is very strange when it does not go to 100%, but in general the flights from Russia to Venezuela arrive full,” he said.
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The Russian airline Nordwind flies to Venezuela every 10 days, but it is expected that in the high tourist season in October, it will fly two weekly flights with 457 passengers, according to the minister. Venezuela and Russia have a cooperation agreement on tourism since 2021.
PadrĂłn explained that in order to attract Russian tourism, Venezuela has adopted the Russian payment system Mir, as well as Venezuelan tour operators who are fluent in Russian.
The minister estimated that by the end of 2024, some 80,000 Russian tourists will have visited Venezuela.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
