In the spring of 2024, the majority of traveling Russians are already traditionally planning to spend their holidays traveling around the country.
As representatives of the Tutu.ru service told RT, approximately 80% of air tickets booked for the period from March to May are for domestic destinations.
Most often in the spring season, tourists plan to visit Moscow (12.8% of the total number of planned flights), Sochi (10.7%), St. Petersburg (8.3%), Mineralnye Vody (6.8%) and Kaliningrad ( 5.6%).
In addition, many air travelers choose Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk and Makhachkala for their holidays.
Moreover, in terms of the number of hotel bookings, the list of the most popular destinations also includes Nizhny Novgorod, Estosadok, Kislovodsk, Irkutsk and Zelenogradsk.
RT presented such data on the Ostrovok.ru service.
“If we look at the growth in the number of bookings, we see the most noticeable changes in outdoor destinations.
For example, the demand for accommodation in Vladikavkaz exceeds last year’s figures by 71%, in Kirovsk - by 59%, in Murmansk - by 58%.
We also note increased interest in such excursion destinations as Zelenogradsk (+65%), Pskov (+55%), Nizhny Novgorod (+54%), Moscow (+53%), Kazan and Kaliningrad (+35%),” reported the company's press service.
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© Vitaly Timkiv
When choosing a place to stay during their vacation, Russians increasingly prefer hotels of a higher category and try to book rooms in advance.
Vice President of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry Yuri Barzykin told RT about this.
“Few people buy three stars in advance, since we have quite a lot of hotels of this type throughout Russia.
At the same time, there are still not enough four- and five-star hotels in the country’s popular resorts, although the market is working to increase supply,” the expert added.
As the head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Maxim Reshetnikov, previously noted in an interview with RT, recently state funding for the tourism industry has “increased by an order of magnitude,” especially in terms of the benefits provided.
Business, in turn, began to direct all resources to investment, because it “believes in the industry” and is trying to create new points of attraction for tourists throughout the country, the minister said.
“The domestic tourist flow is growing very intensively, since the demand is quite high.
Of course, in some cases this is accompanied by an increase in prices due to a lack of supply.
Therefore, all our efforts... are aimed at maximizing the growth of tourist accommodation options, primarily at the construction of hotels,” Reshetnikov emphasized.
Demand for domestic tourism intensified during the pandemic, when travel abroad was limited.
Russian regions then, competing for tourists, began to actively develop new routes, as Pavel Seagal, first vice-president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses “Support of Russia”, told RT.
“Since the country is very large, you can constantly discover new places.
Moreover, if you prepare in advance, buy tickets, you can stay within the budget limits and get a holiday at a high level,” the specialist added.
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© Ramil Sitdikov
According to OneTwoTrip analysts, the average cost of a round-trip air ticket in the Russian Federation is 16.5 thousand rubles, and abroad - 60 thousand. At the same time, a night's stay in Russian hotels in the most popular destinations in the spring costs an average of about 5 thousand rubles , and in foreign hotels prices vary from 5.7 thousand to 18.6 thousand depending on the country, according to materials from Ostrovok.ru.
Among foreign destinations, tourists most often plan trips to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, notes Tutu.ru.
The list of countries in demand for travel also includes Japan, Italy, France, the UAE, Armenia and Thailand, added to Ostrovok.ru.
Russians generally prefer to visit foreign resorts, which can be reached in four to five hours by plane, noted Yuri Barzykin.
“Not all travelers are ready to spend more than seven to nine hours on a flight.
In addition, prices for air tickets and accommodation to foreign destinations have increased significantly compared to pre-Covid times.
On average, a package tour for two abroad will cost twice as much as trips within the Russian Federation, and our industry already provides service and leisure for this money no worse than foreign ones,” added RT’s interlocutor.