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5000 Russians Spend Xmas in Holy Land
Five thousand pilgrims, three times more than last year, will spend Orthodox Christmas, which falls on January 7, in Israel, according to Yury Minulin, general director of the Radonezh tour agency, which specializes religious tours within Russia and abroad. “That figure is based on an analysis of direct flights from Moscow to Tel Aviv by Russian Transaero and Siberian (S7) airlines and Israeli El Al, Minulin told the website Interfax Tourism.
The tour operator said that efforts by pilgrimage services and tour operators to organize charter flights to Israel for Christmas have been fruitless. Charter flights would reduce the cost of the trip. “The rather high cost of plane tickets [$750 or more] significantly impacts the cost of tours. On the average, they cost no less than $1200,” said Minulin. In the course of a week,the pilgrims visit Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth and Bethlehem, where they attend a Christmas service. They live in three-star hotels.
www.kommersant.com
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