Russians began to fly more often to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey

The main beneficiaries of the June increase in outbound tourist traffic from Russia were Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, whose shares in the structure of long weekend tour bookings increased markedly. Compatriots began to travel more actively to Turkey, where the average cost of booking is declining. And the share of Russia in the sales structure of tour operators decreased from 33% to 14% over the year due to the expansion of opportunities for traveling abroad and the rejection of tourist cashback.

The volume of sales of organized tours for the holiday weekend of June 10-12 increased by 83% compared to the same period last year, Travelata.ru analysts calculated. Sletat.ru notes a pronounced year-on-year growth in sales, without giving specific figures. Anex Tour speaks about the high demand for travel, noting that tourists often try to extend their vacation at the expense of holidays.

The revival in the market is provided mainly by sales in outbound destinations, the volume of which, according to Travelata.ru, increased by 86% over the year. The greatest demand for the June holidays is Türkiye. The share of the direction in the structure of sales for these dates, according to Sletat.ru, increased from 39% to 46% over the year, and the average check remained at the level of 177 thousand rubles. Travelata.ru estimates the average cost of a tour to Turkey at 153.8 thousand rubles, without fixing noticeable fluctuations. This may indicate the stabilization of prices in the direction: earlier, the market paid attention to the fact that the high cost of travel reduces interest in Turkey. In May, a tour to the country cost an average of 221.3 thousand rubles.

The second place among foreign destinations for the weekend was taken by Egypt, having formed 10.5% of sales against 6.5% a year earlier, was calculated in Sletat.ru. The average check for booking in Travelata.ru is estimated at 159.7 thousand rubles, which is 7.2% higher than last year.

According to Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, the death of a Russian after a shark attack in Hurghada on June 8 did not lead to the cancellation of trips: without official recommendations from the authorities, tours can only be canceled minus the actual expenses incurred.

In the absence of repeated incidents, the situation will not affect future bookings, he believes. As Mr. Gorin recalls, the death of a tourist from Romania last year under similar circumstances did not lead to a noticeable decrease in sales. The Russian Express reported that there were no calls from tourists and requests to cancel tours to Egypt. Anex Tour calls the situation with vacationers in Egypt regular: there were no cancellations and requests for early termination of the vacation, new bookings are being made. The company added that travelers and guides were given additional safety briefings.

According to Travelata.ru, the third place among foreign destinations in terms of demand for holidays is occupied by UAE, forming 9% of sales against 2% a year earlier. The average check when booking tours to the country decreased by 16.3%, to 125.4 thousand rubles. Dmitry Gorin connects the price reduction with the expansion of flight programs and seasonal offers from hoteliers. Sletat.ru adds that Abkhazia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Maldives and Tunisia continue to be of interest to travelers.

Active sales to foreign destinations led to a decrease in domestic market indicators. According to Travelata.ru, the share of Russia in the structure of sales of tours for the June holidays decreased to 14% against 33% a year earlier. The average check increased by 16.4% to 60.7 thousand rubles. Sergey Romashkin, general director of the Dolphin tour operator, recalls that last year, domestic demand in June was stimulated not only by limited air traffic, but also by the tourist cashback program. According to him, travelers traditionally choose locations close to home to travel around Russia for long weekends.

According to MTS Travel and Bronevik.com, St. Petersburg is the leader in the number of bookings for long weekends in Russia, forming 16% of sales, another 9% falls on Moscow, 4% on Kazan, 3% each on Nizhny Novgorod and Sochi.

The average cost of a long weekend flight within the country, according to Yandex Travel estimates, increased by 25% over the year, to 12.5 thousand rubles.

Alexandra Mertsalova