Demand for tours during the high season increased by 5–25%, and the average check increased by 15%

Growing consumer confidence, increased transportation volumes to popular foreign destinations and a stronger reaction to discounts supported sales of tours for the velvet season. Year on year, demand increased by 5–25%, and the average bill increased by 15%. Turkey remains the most popular organized destination for this period, although the country’s share continues to decline.

The number of bookings of organized tours for this fall increased by 25% year-on-year, according to Travelata.ru. Sletat.ru talks about a 5% increase in sales, adding that there has been no seasonal decline in activity and bookings are at the level of August. The average bill in all directions, according to Sletat.ru, increased by 15% year-on-year, to 164 thousand rubles. OnlineTur.ru representative Igor Blinov confirmed the positive sales dynamics, linking it with discounts. Taking into account discounts, the cost of individual tours, for example, to Turkey, was reduced by 35-45% compared to summer peaks, which stimulated spontaneous purchases, he says.

As Mr. Blinov notes, seasonal discounts are a common practice for the market, but this year the reaction of tourists to them could be more pronounced due to high average prices and active promotion of tours. According to the general director of the tour operator Dolphin, Sergei Romashkin, the increase in interest in tourist trips may be associated with a general strengthening of consumer confidence. Intourist representative Daria Domostroeva draws attention to the increase in the number of available destinations over the year and a significant increase in the volume of transportation to popular countries.

The most popular organized destination for the velvet season is Türkiye. According to Sletat.ru, the direction forms 42.6% of sales versus 47.6% a year earlier. The average booking cost for the year increased by 12%, to 196.1 thousand rubles, and month-on-month prices decreased by 5%. Marketing Director of Travelata.ru Oleg Kozyrev says that compared to August, the average cost of booking in Turkey decreased by 12%. “In August, exchange rates were unstable, tour operators included additional risks in the price,” he noted. According to Travelata.ru, month on month the average check decreased by 9–23% on all outbound destinations.

Second place among foreign destinations is occupied by Egypt, whose share over the year increased from 11.3% to 13%, as calculated by Sletat.ru. The average bill year-on-year increased by 14%, to 178.8 thousand rubles. The UAE accounts for 6% of demand, the cost of a tour to the country increased by 19% over the year, to 228.3 thousand rubles.

The dynamics of prices for tours turned out to be restrained due to the stabilization of transportation costs. And booking hotels abroad for the fall over the year has risen in price by an average of 28%, to 6.5 thousand rubles. per night, calculated at Ostrovok.ru. The most noticeable increase in price for accommodation in Italy over the year among popular destinations was by 52%, to 12.8 thousand rubles. per night. In Kazakhstan, according to Ostrovok.ru, prices increased by 38%, to 6.2 thousand rubles, in Azerbaijan – by 47%, to 6.6 thousand rubles, in Turkey – by 45%, to 9.4 thousand rubles, in Thailand – by 38%, to 4.4 thousand rubles.

Russia’s share in the structure of sales of organized tours for the fall, according to Sletat.ru calculations, decreased to 21.6% this season compared to 24.6% a year earlier. Although Sergei Romashkin talks about sales growth for September-October by an average of 10-15% in units. Medical director of the Association of Health Tourism and Corporate Health, Mikhail Danilov, noticed an increase in the number of bookings at sanatoriums for the fall by 2% year-on-year. But in some regions the dynamics are more pronounced. According to Mr. Danilov, sales in the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody increased by 15% over the year, in the Altai Territory by 8%, in the Crimea by 20% to the low base of 2022.

The average cost of bookings in Russia over the year increased by 20%, to 72.1 thousand rubles, as calculated by Sletat.ru. Travelata.ru talks about an increase in the average check by 16–57%, depending on the destination. For independent tourists, according to Ostrovok.ru, a night in a hotel in the fall has risen in price by an average of 13%, to 4.3 thousand rubles. In Gelendzhik and Kazan, prices increased by 17% year on year, to 4.2 thousand rubles. and 4.1 thousand rubles, in Moscow and Sochi – by 15%, up to 4.5 thousand rubles. and 4.6 thousand rubles. per night respectively.

Alexandra Mertsalova