Cruises are being booked starting in the fall – Kommersant FM
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Russians are twice as likely to book river cruises for the summer. In many destinations, up to half of the seats have already been sold, notes Tourdom.ru. Kommersant FM’s interlocutors attribute the trend to the rise in travel prices and increased interest in such vacations. Was it worth booking now? And how will prices change next year? Details from Vladislav Viktorov.
Sales of river cruises for 2024 started at the end of August. Mostly Russians are interested in long tours of a week or more. They are more expensive, and the demand for them is consistently high. Early booking makes it possible to save up to a quarter of the cost of the trip, notes Ilya Sukhovolsky, Deputy General Director for Development of the Vodokhod company:
“We can talk about a difference of 20-25%; separate additional promotions are also possible in order to purchase a cruise for the season even cheaper. Starting positions start from 6 thousand rubles. per day is “three stars”. From 8 thousand rubles. a four-star cabin will cost. And from 12 thousand rubles. – “Five Stars”. They are booking cruises to the Zamoskvoretsky Islands, along the Yenisei with a visit to Ufa, Moscow-St. Petersburg, Moscow-Kazan, as well as cruises to Astrakhan.”
The river navigation market has experienced a downturn during the pandemic. At that time, many routes were cancelled, passengers were required to undergo tests, and public events on deck were completely banned. Then such a vacation became for many a substitute for traveling abroad. According to Tourdom.ru, over the past three years the river cruise market has grown by 20%.
Among the problems, shipping companies cite a lack of new berths and high tariffs for cruise operators. Despite this, some are opening new destinations, says Andrei Mikhailovsky, general director of the Infoflot cruise center:
“Several years ago, a cruise to Siberia was a very rare and unavailable product. Usually such trips were purchased by foreigners. At the same time, the vessels must be of a suitable level.
It was also possible to travel on the so-called transport line, that is, when the ship sailed along the river and stopped at different points, transporting local residents, but this is not quite a cruise tourism product.
Now several companies on all navigable rivers of Siberia – Lena, Yenisei, Ob, Irtysh – have launched their products. And plus Baikal, there are also cruises on it, as well as demand.”
River cruises for next year have already risen in price by 10% compared to 2023. And it will only become more expensive in the future, Kommersant FM’s interlocutors warn. The inevitable increase in prices is associated with increased costs, such as vessel maintenance, food, fuel costs and crew salaries. Repairing old ships has also become more complicated, says Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry:
“The majority are the historical fleet, reconstructed ships from Germany and the Czech Republic. There are also new projects. But maintaining the existing fleet and building a new one are realities that we must take into account. Current restrictions also affect the maintenance of any equipment. The size of the fleet is limited, and the popularity of domestic tourism is only increasing. During the high season, shortages may also occur.”
As Kommersant wrote, in 2022 the number of Russians going on cruises increased by a third – to 320 thousand people. This year, according to preliminary estimates, 700 thousand people chose such trips.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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