Russians are focused on improving their health – Kommersant FM

In Russia, the demand for holidays in sanatoriums has increased, while there are still almost no health resorts of the European level in the country. As market participants told Kommersant FM, in 2023, interest from travelers, depending on the location of the objects, increased from 3% to 10%. Tour operators note that in Caucasian Mineral Waters and the Krasnodar Territory, demand has significantly exceeded supply. You now have to book rooms six months before your trip. In the past, this could be done in one or two months, Izvestia writes.

At the same time, it is modern centers that are in demand, and not Soviet-style sanatoriums, noted medical director of the Association of Health Tourism and Corporate Health, Mikhail Danilov: “Indeed, the occupancy rate of many sanatoriums is close to 95% or more. In addition, this year the year-round nature is very clearly expressed. If previously there were differences, especially at the end of autumn, now many objects exhibit uniformity.

But there is one caveat here: tour operators are widely reporting that in many regions the shortage of places reaches 50%. We are talking about sanatoriums of fairly good quality, from three “stars” and above.

But the sanatorium and resort industry, which now numbers about more than 1.75 thousand objects, is different, and a very large volume of hotel rooms does not correspond to the three-star category. That is, all the sanatoriums were not filled, but all the high-quality ones were filled. And since in the leading resort regions the percentage of such facilities is high, that’s where they felt it most. The overall industry growth year on year was 6%, which is a good indicator.

At the same time, there is also a relative rejuvenation of the audience. Recently it was heard from Caucasian Mineralnye Vody that younger visitors are coming there. Such guests, first of all, are looking for relaxation, health improvement, and anti-stress.

The budget flow remains the same. Over the past year and a half, this market has been recovering even after the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, since a fairly large number of elderly patients are concentrated in the budget block, who were advised to stay at home as much as possible.”

The Stavropol Territory became the leader in the growth of demand for health-improving holidays in the first nine months of 2023. Next come the Moscow and Kemerovo regions, as well as the sanatoriums of Tatarstan. Meanwhile, businesses complain that it is difficult to attract new guests because 11 airports in the south of the country have been closed for almost two years due to fighting in Ukraine.

Vacationers are increasingly choosing accommodation close to home, explained Tatyana Mamontova, managing shareholder of the Lago-Naki health resort in Adygea: “The republic has never been a tourist territory. It is in great demand among Krasnodar and Rostovites in terms of recreation on holidays and weekends.

But initially we relied on residents of million-plus cities, in particular Moscow and St. Petersburg. 60% of the audience came to us from there. And, of course, with the closure of the airport, a significant drawdown was initially felt. Now it has rolled back. We worked through 2023 in terms of load even 15% better than in 2022.

At the same time, more and more people are choosing objects that are close to them, within a two to three hour drive. So we take regular guests solely on quality. This year we faced a staff shortage and were forced to increase salaries.”

In the next five to six years, only about 20 new sanatoriums may appear in Russia, the Association of Health Tourism and Corporate Health notes. We are talking about objects that have already attracted investment or are under construction.

At the same time, it is now difficult to find funds for the construction of health resorts, said Marina Smirnova, head of the hotel business and tourism department of the Commonwealth Partnership:

“The trend has become the opening of regular hotels with a wellness element. These could even be hotel-clinics. It is sanatoriums that comply with all requirements that open less frequently, of course.

If this is a sanatorium, then, in particular, the site for construction should be larger than for a hotel. There are issues related to the sale of alcohol.

In Kavminvody this segment remains popular. People traditionally come there for treatment. At the same time, the costs of sanatoriums themselves will not be much more. The main cost is equipment. For example, we looked at the case in Staraya Russa, where there are already sanatoriums. And so we came to the conclusion that the new facility would not be able to attract customers at the price to pay for the construction, so that guests would spend ten or more days there. People will come there on weekends and holidays at most.

So in this area, you need to choose the location very carefully for a new project. So far, for example, in the Moscow and Leningrad regions, investors have not had any luck with such objects, although there have also been sanatoriums there all their lives, and there is even some water. And, for example, in Sochi there is an unspoken decision that on the first line, priority when approving documents will be given to sanatorium facilities.”

Until 2022, foreign health resorts, such as the Czech Karlovy Vary and Marienbad, were also popular among Russians. At the beginning of 2023, tour operators reported that Russians had switched, among other things, to sanatoriums in Belarus.

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Elizaveta Skobtsova