Where Russians won't go this year

European destinations show a new anti-record this year. According to the European Travel Commission, due to the war in Ukraine and anti-Russian sanctions, the desire of Russians to go on tours in Europe has halved - this is the lowest level in the entire history of observations. The figures this season are even lower than during the first wave of COVID-19. In May 2022, only 20% of Russian tourists surveyed said they see Europe as a summer holiday destination. A year ago, 39% of respondents announced such plans. According to the report, most Russians do not know when they will be able to afford a trip to Europe next.

At the same time, the Russians are in no hurry to give up rest in general. According to the ATOR Analytical Service, most often they choose a beach holiday in Turkey. In second place are Russian resorts. The shares of these destinations were distributed approximately equally and in total account for 85% of all vouchers sold. But analysts believe that the popularity of Russian resorts is actually much higher: most compatriots prefer to organize their holidays on their own, without turning to tour operators - many travel in their own cars.

The total number of sales of all tour operators decreased compared to the same period last year by 15-20%.

How much the organized tours abroad have risen in price

Natalya Gavrilova, CEO of Arcadia Tour, explains that tour prices began to rise not so much due to higher hotel prices, but due to a completely changed logistics system and the lack of affordable flight alternatives:

“We can trace this regression through the change in the cost of early bookings for the May holidays. Due to the closure of airspace for Russian airlines, some flights were canceled. Because of this, we had to rebook most of the tickets for tours that were purchased at the beginning of the year. Of the available options, Turkish Airlines flights remained. Taking into account the new conditions of transportation, the tour for a family of three for ten days, which they booked in early February for 110 thousand rubles, in May cost them 220 thousand.

Save on comfort, too, will not work. Even if the client prefers an inexpensive hotel, this will practically not affect the total cost of the tour. Now the cost of transportation is up to 50% of the total amount that you have to pay for a standard week-long vacation in Turkey.

Where can you still go

Turkey has been becoming the leader in the preferences of Russian tourists for several years. First of all, this is due to the unique ratio of price and quality of service. The country's climate also plays an important role. In July-August, which account for most of the holidays in Russia, the air temperature (30-35 degrees) and water (28-29 degrees) are still quite high, but comfortable for heat-loving Russian travelers. In the same price segment, one can consider Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where the weather is not so comfortable: the temperature in the summer months often exceeds +40, but it will not work to hide from it in shady coniferous forests, as in Turkey. These options are not suitable for families with children and older travelers.

At the same time, most of the countries where Russian tourists are used to traveling not only issue tourist visas, but also remove all covid restrictions. Tourists from Russia are still expected in Spain, France, Greece, Hungary and a number of other countries. For a while, Italy disappeared from this list, the embassy of which had problems with accepting payments for consular fees: at the end of May, the Central Bank imposed sanctions on Intesa Bank, which services all transactions of the embassy. However, in early June, information appeared that visas were being issued as before.

It is still possible to travel to Europe, but it is long and expensive, says Natalya Gavrilova:

“There are practically no people who choose this destination for tourism purposes. Go mostly those who own real estate in the EU. First of all, this is due to the fact that direct flights to these countries are not carried out, and flights with connections take a lot of time and are very expensive.”

According to Aviasales, the cheapest flight for a family of three (two adults and a child) from Moscow to Barcelona at the end of June will cost 200,000 rubles. Travelers will have to make two transfers on the way to Spain and spend about two days on the road. Return tickets offer more comfortable conditions - one transfer and a little more than a day on the way. Turkish airlines offer to get to the resort much faster - 16 hours there and 9 back, but the cost of these tickets is more than 520 thousand rubles. Not everyone can spend such amounts.

It turns out that ordinary Russians have practically no choice - this season beach holidays are available only in Turkey, the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory.

Travel fear

About 24% of Russians surveyed have completely abandoned the idea of ​​going on vacation this season. Some admitted that they simply cannot afford a holiday in Europe this year - 13% said this. Difficulties with paying for air tickets and hotels, as well as the inability to use bank cards on vacation, scared away another 3% of respondents. The third most popular reason is the fear of anti-Russian sentiment and hostility towards Russians. This reason was named by 10% of respondents.

One way or another, the conflict in Ukraine caused the refusal to travel to Europe in 25% of cases. This includes the rise in ticket prices against the backdrop of limited air traffic, and financial fears, and a change in attitude towards Russian-speaking tourists. The pandemic has become the most unpopular reason for not traveling to Europe - it scares only 2% of Russians.

Holidays in Russian beach resorts are also associated with fears, Natalya Gavrilova notes:

"People are afraid to go to our south - someone is afraid of bombing because of the proximity of the border with Ukraine, and someone is afraid that the sea can bring mines."

According to her, some travelers refused to travel even to countries friendly to Russia. Most of them are afraid of conflicts with the citizens of Ukraine and the introduction of new sanctions, due to which travel may not take place.

Russian resorts held hostage by war

This year, a completely uncharacteristic situation has developed on the Russian tourist market: on the one hand, a number of once popular destinations are experiencing a shortage of tourist traffic. On the other hand, regions that could not boast of stable performance until 2022 are showing significant growth this season.

Crimea took the brunt of the war. Tourists from the Trans-Urals and the eastern part of the country were cut off from the Crimea - the only way to get there was by plane, but since the outbreak of hostilities, Simferopol airport has been closed to civilian flights. The flow of tourists from those regions where you can get there by train has also decreased: many are not ready to get to the sea in this way.

On the Krasnodar coast, only one airport is currently operating - in Sochi. But there are not enough flights in this direction to provide all the resorts with a sufficient flow of tourists. Natalya Gavrilova notes that the demand of regional agencies for tours to Gelendzhik and Anapa has already fallen by 80-90%:

“The situation is aggravated by the lack of affordable train tickets. Yes, there are still scattered tickets at different ends of the train. But they are not suitable for everyone. For example, a son is carrying a mother of 75 years old, an aunt of the same age and a disabled brother - no upper shelves in different compartments are suitable for a person. If the rail service fails and customers see that there is no way to get there, then the remnants of demand will collapse.”

According to Natalia Gavrilova, an increase in the number of trains will partly solve the problem, but only at the expense of tourists who have enough time.

“We observed a decrease in demand in these areas for the May holidays. Many were not ready to spend three days on the train, when the whole vacation lasts a week. Some trains go to Anapa for 18-19 hours, and some reach it in a day and a half. New trains will be in demand if they cover this distance quickly.

Tourists have increasingly begun to note that not everyone is happy with vacationers even in the most popular resorts. Many complain that the service has deteriorated, and the attitude towards tourists is very consumerist - this greatly spoils the impression. An organized group that ordered a tour from us to Sochi and Abkhazia was disappointed by the contrast: they were completely delighted with Abkhazia - it is sincere, hospitable there, prices are low, and a bottle of wine costs 300-500 rubles. In Sochi, in their opinion, it turned out to be unreasonably expensive, there was no service, and the attitude was in the style of “cheat and deceive”.

Kamchatka, Altai and Karelia became one of the most popular destinations for summer holidays this season. But even new Russian resorts still cannot offer their clients the ratio of service and prices that Russians are used to traveling to Turkey or Europe for. And if the service already has, albeit slow, but positive dynamics, in terms of cost they are significantly inferior to the usual Turkish coast. For example, a family room in a modest three-star hotel without meals in Altai will cost at least 50 thousand rubles per week, and a flight from Moscow to Gorno-Altaisk will cost an additional 50 thousand for three. To this amount should be added the cost of transport, daily meals for the whole family and excursions.

In the current conditions, most tourists have to be content with what little is left: enjoy the beauty of their own country, which partly compensates for the low level of service, or choose familiar Turkey, where Russian travelers are still waiting.