The number of tour operators and hotels is growing in Russian regions

The development of domestic tourism contributes to an increase in the number of players employed in it. The most noticeable increase is observed in the North Caucasus, the Far East and Siberia, where the tourist flow has increased by more than one and a half times. But many entrepreneurs in the regions continue to work as individual entrepreneurs and self-employed, and the development of hotel infrastructure remains uneven, market participants note.

In February, the number of registered tour operators in Russia amounted to 2.46 thousand, which is 8.2% more year-on-year, according to Kontur.Focus data. At the same time, the number of travel agencies decreased by 3.1%, to 24.6 thousand. Kontur.Focus expert Anton Yakovlev draws attention to the fact that starting an operator business is more difficult than an agency business: you need to register in the register and have funds to support it. He attributes the growth to the development of domestic tourism: tour operators are mainly involved in the development and launch of new routes.

Vice-President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia Sergei Romashkin explains the increase in the number of players in the domestic market by its whitewashing.

In the fall of 2024, the “Electronic Travel” service will be officially launched, which forces many agents to register as operators, having the opportunity to enter information about their own product into it.

According to the register of tour operators, there are now 377 players in the field of outbound tourism and 4.2 thousand in domestic tourism in Russia. The head of the legal committee of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Georgy Mokhov, does not see the prerequisites for an increase in the number of outbound tourism operators due to the high entry threshold: the cost of insurance for their activities is now about 2 million rubles. in year. For domestic market players, this amount is about 20 thousand rubles.

According to Kontur.Focus, the largest increase in the number of tour operators and travel agencies over the year is noticeable in Dagestan (30.3%), Ingushetia (25.6%), Kabardino-Balkaria (14.1%), Yakutia (13.5%) and Chechnya (10.8%). Tourist interest in these regions is growing. The total number of guests staying in accommodation facilities in the North Caucasus over the past year, according to Rosstat, increased by 56%, to 2.75 million people. The flow to Yakutia increased by 55.8%, to 191.4 thousand. The dynamics in the country as a whole was 20.6%, to 77.9 million. Although Mr. Mokhov draws attention to the fact that many regional players continue to work as individual entrepreneurs and self-employed, seeing no motivation to register a company.

The number of legal entities registered for hotel services, according to calculations by Kontur.Focus, increased by 3.25% over the year in Russia. A particularly noticeable increase – from 17% to 43% – is observed in Ingushetia, Adygea, and North Ossetia; in Altai – by 16.4%, in Karelia – by 15.4%. Deputy Director of the Hospitality Industry Division of CORE.XP Dmitry Parinos says that the number of classified accommodation facilities in Russia at the end of 2023 increased by 12%, to 21.1 thousand. According to NF Group partner Olga Shirokova, last year the number of quality hotel rooms in the country grew by 20%, to 6.8 thousand.

Dmitry Parinos explains this dynamics by the entry of small hotels into the market amid an increase in the number of trips around the country.

According to the expert, the launch of such hotels takes no more than 12 months, while the development of large projects usually lasts for several years. The trend is also indicated by the rapid development of the market for non-capital accommodation facilities. Analysts at Kontur.Focus point out that the number of registered legal entities of campsites in Russia increased by 14.9% over the year, to 564. Due to small investments and quick payback, the segment is often considered by small investors (see “Kommersant” dated June 28, 2023).

Olga Shirokova notes that the Russian hotel market is at the beginning of an active stage of development, adding that there is currently a limited supply of quality properties in popular locations. Regional director of the strategic consulting department at Nikoliers, Vladislav Nikolaev, notes that in 2021–2023, a large volume of new hotel projects were launched in Russia as a whole, and the profitability per room of existing properties increased by 22% over the past year. Dmitry Parinos also draws attention to the fact that the hotel market is still unevenly saturated.

Alexandra Mertsalova