Prospects for winter holidays for Russians: what will happen to prices and visas

— The summer tourist season is over. How did Western sanctions affect its results? Where did the Russians go and how much did they spend?

Osipova: We must understand that we did not have time to get out of the pandemic, as we faced international sanctions. For example, Crimea this year received less of its tourists due to the closure of the airport in Simferopol. Nevertheless, Russians travel by train, bus, or private vehicle. But, of course, the priority this year is the Krasnodar Territory, which received much more tourists than Turkey. It was like that before the pandemic, and it is now. Plus, the demand for Karelia, Kaliningrad, Siberia and the Far East has grown.

If we talk about the average check, then we must take into account that the cost of rest always depends on many factors. Food, air and railway tickets, transportation, utilities have risen in price. All this is reflected in the final cost of the holiday. If we are talking about the segment of 4-5 star hotels, then there are simply not enough of them in Russia. When this segment is expanded, there will be competition and naturally we will see lower prices. Mostly tourists go to the segment of 2-3 stars. There, prices have risen by about 15% compared to last summer.

— Can you single out the top domestic and foreign destinations that our tourists preferred this summer?

Osaulenko: These are, of course, the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory, Karelia, our North, Kaliningrad. If you specify in Siberia, then the leaders are the Altai Territory, Khakassia. As for the Far East, last year for the first time there was a massive demand for Sakhalin, this year vacationers actively flew to Primorsky Krai and Kamchatka. Well, the trend of the season is, of course, the Caucasus. Of course, the indicators here cannot yet be compared with the Krasnodar Territory and even with Kaliningrad. But this year, how many flew to Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, compared to what it was before, heaven and earth. Interest in the Caucasus among our tourists has grown many times, and maybe even an order of magnitude. If we talk about international destinations, then by and large the three leading directions have not changed. As there were Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, they remained.

Dekhtyar: Today, our tourists go not only to hotels that are present in a particular region, they also use the private sector. All booking sites offer a fairly large range of apartments for rent for short and long periods. Therefore, a tourist who comes, for example, to one of the cities of the Caucasus region, often rests according to his own program.

– The autumn stage of the tourist cashback has started, the program will cover trips around Russia from October 1 to December 25. How often do people return funds and how much?

Dekhtyar: The bottom line is that accommodation facilities in hotels that have qualified and confirmed their participation in the cashback program must be registered on a special website of the Federal Tourism Agency and on the website of the cashback program. Otherwise, our tourist, who independently books a vacation, will not receive a refund. You also need to understand that not only not all hotels, but not all tour operators are registered in this program. Therefore, if you are counting on a refund of part of the funds, check the relevant information on all possible sites where this should be indicated. As a rule, tour operators that have been working for a long time inform the consumer correctly.

Osipova: I would like to add that the Mir card must also be registered in this program. It is very important! If all conditions are met, then, as a rule, within 5 days, or even earlier, the money is returned. The program is really very popular. Judge for yourself: tourists return up to 40 thousand rubles for a ticket to the Far East. The program is aimed at helping both specific vacationers and the tourism industry as a whole, as well as the development of domestic tourism. Recently, I was asked on Belarusian television: will this program be able to work outside the Russian Federation, for example, in the countries of the former CIS? So, probably, it can work if the government of those countries also understands that their citizens want to rest in Russia.

Osaulenko: I would like to add that over the past 1.5-2 years we have a whole category of tourists who are waiting for cashback. According to travel agencies, during the period when the program is launched, the number of bookings rises to 75%. This is a very high figure. But further we must develop this direction towards targeted assistance. We are well aware that the velvet season, for example, in the Crimea and the velvet season in the Far East are different things in terms of air temperature and weather conditions. Therefore, there should be preferences for precisely those regions where we would like to direct our tourist flows so that travelers can see them.

Let’s talk about the less pleasant side of the holiday. Rostourism recently announced that the debts of tour operators to tourists whose trips were canceled due to the pandemic and sanctions reach 24 billion rubles. Meanwhile, back in May, there was information that Russia could prohibit the extension of the moratorium after the current year on the return of money for failed tours. What happens if companies are required to pay out frozen funds to all customers upon first request? Tour operators will be able to find such amounts?

Osaulenko: You see, it is one thing to order or oblige everyone to pay everything. And another – where to get the money for it. Yes, of course, it is impossible to put off obligations to people indefinitely, and business itself agrees with this. But then we must come up with and offer both the consumer and travel companies new mechanisms: how will this be done? After all, today, by and large, we are told: let’s replace the offsite product with an internal one. But wait, it’s a different product – and therefore an unequal replacement. Today, we are considering what mechanisms should be implemented so that within the next year, or maybe two, the business will smoothly return the funds to tourists. And here, by the way, one of the options that the business offered was to partially use the cashback mechanism. Now all proposals are being worked out and accumulated by the authorities. Let’s hope that towards the end of October we will hear some real proposals on how, when and at whose expense this can be done.

Dekhtyar: It seems to me that the moratorium should be extended, because tour operators are the most affected link in the current situation. They will not be able to pay the money to tourists in full. They just don’t have that kind of money.

– And what about the tourists who paid the money, but did not receive the services – even if epidemiological and geopolitical factors are to blame?

Dekhtyar: Tour operators offer replacement tours, directions, rescheduling dates. It can be said that companies got out of their pants to satisfy all customers as much as possible. But they themselves were under the strongest blow through no fault of their own. Let’s take the register of tour operators on the Rostourism website. Previously, it had more than two thousand companies with financial guarantees. Now there are 360 ​​left. When we talk about the tourism industry, you need to understand that it has already decreased significantly.

Osipova: Yes, operators are doing their best. It should still be mentioned that initially the debt was more than 40 billion rubles, but now it remains 2 times less. Some have already been given away, which is good. But all the same, tourists need support no less than tour operators. When, for example, a client is offered to go, relatively speaking, to Karelia instead of Greece, this is not entirely correct. I think that this is a common problem: both the tourism industry, and the government, and legislators. Together we must look for a way out, and there is one, I’m sure. Solutions are thought out and discussed.

Let’s go back to today. Where is the best place to go to relax on the autumn holidays?

Dekhtyar: There is no universal answer here. It all depends on who will go – a person alone, wanting to relax from everyone, a romantic couple or a family with children? These are completely different directions that can be offered. For example, I advise you to consider the cities of the Golden Ring, where you can go by your own transport. By the way, this year we are celebrating a surge in car tourism. We have not had this for quite a long time, and now it is just very relevant. If you have 5-7 days to rest, then you can build yourself an interesting route to Karelia. And if this is a three-day period, then, of course, Moscow and the Moscow region are more realistic options.

– While some European countries demand to limit the issuance of Schengen visas, others issue them more and more. How will this affect the European direction of Russian tourism? Can it be reduced to zero under the influence of geopolitical factors?

Osaulenko: As for the European direction in general, let’s hope that common sense will prevail. Today, only hoteliers in southern Italy announced that they lost 190 million euros during the summer months due to the absence of specifically Russian tourists. And this is only one region in only one country. We have heard similar statements, even with more serious casualty figures, from Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Spain and France. But each country makes its own decision. Let’s hope that we will continue to visit Europe, at least for tourism purposes.

– Autumn tours for Russians have risen in price. The average check for booking trips abroad for the velvet season has grown by almost 50% over the year. And seasonal decline is not expected. What is the reason?

Osaulenko: Demand creates supply. All those who could not relax in the summer have postponed their vacation plans for the fall. Under no circumstances do people want to give up traveling. I recently spoke with hoteliers in Abkhazia, they say: “We have everything booked until mid-October, this has never happened before.” Here’s the answer: prices don’t fall because demand is high.

– If we talk about the prospects for the velvet season and the New Year, where is it better to fly on vacation and for what money?

Dekhtyar: Velvet season can be very cool to spend on our river boats. Shipping companies offer many interesting routes. This is Kizhi, and Valaam, this is more distant travel to Astrakhan. But given that cashback works, the cost of these tours will be lower, since it will be possible to return up to 20%. As for winter holidays, it’s worth waiting and seeing how things unfold. It’s not even about geopolitics, but about the fact that, judging by media reports, the number of coronavirus cases is growing again. And as we already know from our own experience, covid can close cities and countries. Therefore, I would not begin to plan a winter vacation for the time being. Although purely theoretically Sochi can accept skiers, the Crimea, the Altai Territory, the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody are ready to meet tourists on New Year’s Eve. And if you are planning a vacation abroad, then there is open Egypt and the UAE, where you can go in the winter. Again, if there is no force majeure with a pandemic.

Osipova: We also have two new interesting destinations: Iran and Venezuela. And the prices are quite affordable for a winter holiday. So, for example, a package tour to Iran will cost 60 thousand per person with a direct flight and accommodation for a week. Venezuela is slightly more expensive. But for those who are ready to discover new countries and cultures, this is very interesting!