Taras Fomchenkov
for EcoToutism Expert 
At the same time, as for the tourist infrastructure facilities suitable to host families with children, there are still quite a lot of questions. Thus, according to a set of regulations ‘Hotel Buildings. Design Rules’, the share of three-bed rooms in 3-star hotels should be at least 50 percent. But this standard is observed not by all 3-star hotels; usually hotels provide an additional bed for an additional fee.
The same problem arises when planning excursions. Their standard set in any city is divided into excursions ‘for adults’ and ‘excursions for children’, and while the second option is often boring for adults, the first one is of no interest for children. The share of activities and entertainments interesting for all generations remains small. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule and there are such opportunities mainly in popular tourism locations. For example, in St. Petersburg, the share of excursions for parents with children increased from 37 percent of the total number of excursions in 2021 to 46 percent in 2022. The increase was also recorded in 2023.
The demand for family trips during vacations is expected to grow in the future. By 2027, the demographic factor will also come into play because the number of school-age children is expected to increase by 20 percent (to 20.5 mn people) compared to 2017.
The introduction of special tariffs for family trips of parents with many children is among the initiatives proposed by the State Duma and described by news agencies. The Ministry of Transport is going to develop the tariff dubbed ‘Large Family’ for air and railway traveling to allow the family groups of up to 15 people to buy tickets at a discounted price. Businesses providing family services will be granted benefits, for example, property tax preferences.
There are also plans to develop a national standard Tourism for Families with Children to define the requirements for the quality and safety of this type of recreation.
As Nikolai Valuyev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Tourism and Development of Tourism Infrastructure stated in his interview with Radio Rossii, “The concept of Tourism for Families with Children is under development jointly with the Committee on Tourism within the framework of The Year of the Family in Russia. At the meetings, Rosstandart (Federal Technical Regulation and Metrology) was tasked with developing these standards, and work is also underway on devising the concept that will be included in our basic law on tourism activities. I am really confident that next year, all these issues regarding demography, family, and children will remain on the agenda, and the development of children’s tourism will continue.”
“Today, the development of the family tourism in Russia is really hindered by the lack of infrastructure facilities for family traveling during vacations, and excursions that would be interesting to all family members. The cost of family tourism during vacations is of importance, as well as, maybe, the creation of subsidized tariffs for family travels. Formalization of these tasks within the framework of a separate law that will define not only what ‘family tourism’ is, but also provide for possible support measures, will become an incentive for the development of this segment of the tourism market,” Svetlana Chichkina, Vice President of the Eurasian Community of Travel Industry Specialists, commented on the initiative.
