Turkey Plays New Role as Business Travel Hub for Russia’s Displaced Corporations
Photo Credit: Istanbul is challenging the likes of Munich, Vienna and Zurich as primary business travel hubs, according to travel agency CWT. Getty / Seqoya
Skift Take
More businesses from Russia than any other nation are registering offices in Turkey, but the resulting boost in corporate travel could raise ethical questions in the not too distant future.
Russian tourists may be flocking to Turkish resort hotspots like Antalya and Bodrum, but the country looks set to become a critical business travel hub for Russia as growing numbers of corporations relocate there following sanctions imposed by the West.
A record number of Russian businesses opened offices in Turkey last year, with Russian citizens establishing 1,363 companies, according to reports. Based on the overall number of firms established with foreign capital, Russia has become the leading country, overtaking Iran which set up 1,300 companies, based on figures from Turkey’s Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges.
For the upcoming April-to-June quarter, Turkish Airlines has upped its number seats to/from Russia by 55 percent on the same quarter in 2019, according to data from Cirium. Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines expects a 102 percent increase, while Russia’s Aeroflot’s
