Taras Fomchenkov
for EcoToutism Expert 
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) informed that according to the shares of early booking, tours in the premium travelling segment were in the greatest demand. Moreover, the maximum advance tour purchase period in Russia has seriously decreased. EcoTourism Expert figured out what prices for vacations to expect this coming summer and the ways to save money on travelling.
According to Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, “When it comes to the medium and budget price segment, there are still a lot of tours left for the summer. However, there is a possibility that the tour prices will decrease if demand is low.”
So far, we see only the rise in price. So, the market analysts’ statistics indicates that the cost of tours in Russia has increased by 15 percent compared to last year, and premium tours have risen in price even more, by about 20 percent. In some cases, the cost of exclusive offers in this segment has increased by 30 percent.
As for the forecast for this summer, it is very difficult to do it today, experts admit. Although, as the ATOR warns, the continuous monitoring of the market can help find the options quite reasonable in cost. Monitoring the current situation shows the average cost of a 10-day vacation at a seaside today is from 80,000 to 90,000 roubles per person for an ‘all-inclusive’ option at a 4- or 5-star hotel. It is clear that it is possible to find a cheaper budget tour for 40,000 to 60,000 roubles per person. At the same time, respondents to various sociological surveys said that their budget for a long summer vacation, on the average in the country, was mainly about 61 thousand roubles per person.
Interestingly, that the cost of vacations in the Crimea has practically not increased compared to 2022, however, in such popular places like the Altai area or the resort city of Sochi, the price for a vacation begins to “break records”.
In this situation, by the way, the experts noticed another trend - the shorter time for rest of tourists. ATOR vice-president Sergey Romashkin noted that the duration of summer vacations had decreased by an average of 10 percent - if a year ago, people went to the sea for an average of 10-11 days, now the standard vacation lasts nine days only. According to ATOR, it looks that the Russians want to compensate for the rising cost of vacations by reducing the period of rest.
Most of the tourists plan to spend their vacations in five most popular destinations like the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory (Sochi, Anapa and Gelendzhik), Abkhazia, the Caucasian Mineral Water region, Kaliningrad, and Daghestan. Also, experts note an increase in interest in sightseeing tours. Among the destinations popular and sold out are the tours to Kamchatka, Lake Baikal and Altai Mountains. Travellers also are eager to go to Khakassia, Vladivostok and Sakhalin Island.
Interestingly, despite the difficulties in obtaining visas, tourists have a chance of going to Europe. The Schengen visas are still issued to the Russians by Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, France, Hungary, and in a number of countries, if you had a visa issued previously, you can also get a visa for up to five years.
On the whole, based on the data of sociological surveys, about 10 percent of respondents are interested in a vacation at the Black Sea coast, 6 percent of respondents plan to go to Türkiye, and about 6 percent want to visit Egypt. Another 4 percent are thinking about spending their vacations making a trip to the mountains, 3 percent are going to make a tour of the cities. Two percent of respondents would choose the Kaliningrad Region for their vacations. And, finally, about 41 percent think that they will not go anywhere and spend their holidays in their ‘dachas’ (summer houses). And 30 percent decided to stay at home.
At the same time, the season still cannot be called a failure, says Sergey Pozdnyakov, an expert in tourism.
“I would not really trust the ATOR statistics. In fact, the number of travellers around the country will increase because, firstly, travelling is limited, and secondly, the vacations in Türkiye have risen in price very much,” the expert believes.
According to Sergey Pozdnyakov, the situation with Türkiye, by the way, has reached the point where many tourists rebook their trips to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates where they can have cheaper rest, albeit the climate in these countries is hotter and drier than in Türkiye.
“As for summer residents, of course, people will go to their ‘dachas’ and there will, probably, be a little more of them than usually. But I would like to mention again, that this season will not be a failure at all since a lot of people travel around Russia today and the number of tourists, I suppose, will grow by 3-5 percent just in the summer,” the expert sums up.
