SELLING TO RUSSIAN SPEAKERS
Mike Walsh
What happened? Here in Costa Blanca the red, white and blue flag is now almost as commonplace as is the flag of Spain. It is no longer Britain’s Union Flag but the Russian Federation’s tri-colour banner that provides a welcome to affluent Russian speakers.
Little wonder; the Russians have so far invested nearly €1,000 million in Costa Blanca property. The number of Russian holiday homebuyers has trebled since 2010.
My Russian-Ukrainian wife, Nadia now feels as much at home here as I do. In fact, her skills as an English / Spanish to Russian copy translator keep her busy.
According to the College of Property Registrars, Russian and French buyers pushed British buyers into third place. Russia’s economic prospects are far healthier than the European Union’s. Often forgotten, most people in the affluent former Eastern Block states also speak Russian.
The Russian speaking population is 142 million. If we include non-Russians but familiar with the Russian language, this figure rises to 350 million Russian speakers. To put things in perspective there are far more Russian speakers on our doorstep than there are English speakers in the United States. The Russian economy is doing better too.
Although the Russian Federation is by far the world’s largest country, it is virtually landlocked. Unlike the Americans and Western Europeans, Russians have no natural access to a sub-tropical climate and lifestyle.
When affluent Russians want a sub-tropical second home or holiday the Mediterranean countries are the easy option. Spain tops the list. It gets better: If as expected, visa requirements are further reduced, the second language in the Costa regions could be Russian rather than English.
Will this happen? It is happening. Russian speaking big spenders are already pouring into Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, and London, Slovakia etc. They are doing so because they are desperate to take advantage of the buoyant rouble. Retailers in Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius say 40 per cent of their turnover is Russian rouble based.
Russian speakers are big spenders. A popular Costa Blanca restaurant, where the a la carte menu starts at €40, was packed with Russians. Nadia says it was like sitting in a Moscow or St Petersburg Restaurant. Part of Torrevieja has been dubbed Little Moscow.
Anna and Richard Plaster, who recently engaged Nadia to provide their Russian translations, are realists. “The Russian market is the mainstay of our business.” Elizabeth and Paul Jackson of the Beauty Emporium in Benimar say their stall is being laid out for the Russian speakers.
Michael Walsh is a marketing copywriter and editor. His wife Nadia, is a professional English - Russian copy content translator. 662 067 490 or quite_write@yahoo.co.uk
