A “photo sketch” of a typical Russian tourist was compiled: moderately well-fed and wearing shorts

Realistic portrait from statistics

The domestic tourism industry ordered analysts to create an average portrait of the most active Russian tourist, along with the thickness of his wallet: is he or she, how old is he (she), where is he (she) from and where does he actually live, where does he travel and how much money does he spend on it? The result was a 40-year-old beachgoer with a higher education from a city of over a million people, who prefers Sochi or Antalya.

According to analysts, 53% of Russians went on vacation last summer. Of these, 72% are residents of capitals and cities with a population of over a million, and 69% have a university diploma. The majority of them (55%) are representatives of the stronger sex aged 35 to 44 years, who chose a beach holiday “at a popular resort.” Of those who chose a foreign resort, the majority of compatriots (38%) visited Turkey this summer, for which they paid an average of 200 thousand rubles per person per week. In second place in terms of attendance are the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, more precisely, the UAE, Egypt and Thailand; 23% of our fellow citizens visited the resorts of these countries during the summer. Foreign holidays were more often chosen by managers from the field of banking (14%), consulting (19%), marketing (16%), as well as PR specialists (13%) and IT specialists (12%). “Bronze” for guests from the Russian Federation in the CIS countries, they were visited by 20% of Russian vacationers. Of those who preferred domestic health resorts, the majority (35%) chose the Krasnodar Territory this summer. And among those who basked on the Black Sea beaches from Anapa to Sochi, 52% were accountants and 48% were insurers. It is interesting that, speaking of spending, travelers within the CIS and the Russian Federation give approximately the same figures – about 200 thousand rubles per vacation, and the average vacation is 10 days. Some vacationers settled within the range of 100 to 200 thousand rubles, but these are mostly “savages” staying in the private sector.

In the professional context, Sochi and the surrounding area, and Gelendzhik were chosen by government officials, workers in the arts and entertainment and construction sectors. Workers in agriculture, production, security and safety rested at home or in the country. Only 9% of Russian vacationers surveyed managed to relax at both domestic and foreign resorts.

Compatriots considered beach tourism to be the best vacation last summer (49%), “silver” for educational and excursion tourism (46%), “bronze” for “eco-vacation” – hiking, kayaking, fishing, mountain trekking, etc. (28%). In honorable 4th place is health-improving holidays in sanatoriums and spas (9% of respondents). Educational vacations were more often chosen by ladies (51% versus 39% among men), while beach vacations were chosen by gentlemen, earning 55% versus women’s 45%. People with higher education most often signed up for excursions (57%).

In general, 45% of Russians did not go anywhere in the summer: mainly people 45+ (47%) and residents of rural areas (56%). 65% of those who refused summer vacation explained this by financial difficulties, and every third person who did not take a break from work in the summer (33%) explained it by lack of time. Every tenth person did not travel anywhere “for health reasons” (13%) or simply did not want to (11%). Most often, the reason given was “simply a reluctance to drag yourself anywhere” by young people aged 18 to 24 (26%).

Tourists from Russia can fly to 85 destinations in 36 countries, but the majority of international routes from Russia (40%) are to Uzbekistan, China and Turkey. If in 2022 Russians applied for a Schengen visa 687 thousand times, and in 10% of cases they were refused, then in 2023 the proportions changed: there are fewer applications, but more refusals. But given the tightening of visa policy, complex logistics and the rising euro exchange rate, as they say, I didn’t really want to. Last summer, Europe ceased to be a popular destination for Russian vacationers.