12/02/12, 11:37:10 EST

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New flights will have tourists Russian to Capital

scotsman.com

EDINBURGH is set for an influx of high-spending Russian tourists after plans to introduce regular direct flights from Moscow next year were revealed.

Ilya Itkin of Russian tour agency PAC Group confirmed charter flights to the Capital are to begin in the summer.

Speaking at a reception hosted by VisitScotland in Moscow, he said: "Most Russian tourists go to London to see the sights and then on to Scotland, but with direct flights there will be plenty who are happy to go straight to Scotland."

According to Itkin, the flights will be a joint venture between Russia's largest travel agencies operating UK tours - PAC Group, BSI and Millennium.

Last year, 26,000 Russians visited Scotland and that number could be up by as much as 37 per cent this year.

VisitScotland director Willie Macleod said: "At the moment, we are attracting the more affluent sector of the population."

 Printable Version  | published Sep 17, 2007