To Thailand, on business, urgently – Newspaper Kommersant No. 223 (7424) dated 12/01/2022

Demand for long trips, in particular to Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, has doubled this year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, travel market participants say. “Wintering” in distant countries of Russians stimulates, in particular, the spread of remote work, despite the fact that travel to Asia is now more affordable than to Europe.

Now more than 10% of bookings by Russians of accommodation facilities in popular Asian countries for the period from November 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 are made for a period of three weeks or more, follows from Ostrovok.ru data. The company adds that a year earlier, the share of long-term bookings was half as much – 5%, in the pre-crisis 2019 – 4%.

Now such bookings to Asia account for 7.7% of the total volume of bookings for winter holidays, although a year ago this figure did not exceed 0.1%, in 2019 – 1.2%, says Elena Shelekhova, a representative of OneTwoTrip. According to her, a one-way flight to Asia accounts for 12.7% of all tickets sold abroad this winter, while last year – 0.9%, in 2019 – 3.7%. In “Yandex. Travel” note that the share of long-term trips to Asian countries increased from 6% to 27% of the total demand for these destinations over the year.

Demand for tourist trips to Asian countries has been actively recovering since November due to the expansion of air traffic. Ostrovok.ru names Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia as the most popular. In the overall structure of bookings for November-March, they now form 12% of demand against 6% a year earlier. The share of Thailand increased from 2% to 8%. Tutu.ru adds that Thailand has become one of the most popular countries among independent travelers.

The number of direct flights from Russia to Asian countries has grown significantly, affordable flights from the regions have appeared, many countries have lifted entry restrictions dictated by COVID-19, Elena Shelekhova explains. In “Yandex. Travel” believe that now it is more appropriate to talk about the restoration of demand: before the pandemic, the region was traditionally in demand among tourists in winter. At the height of the pandemic, when air traffic was limited, only tourists who were willing to spend significant amounts often reached Asian resorts. If in 2021, in the structure of Russian demand, the share of five-star hotels in Asian countries, according to Ostrovok.ru, reached 32%, then this year it is already 16%. On the other hand, the demand for three- and four-star hotels increased, respectively, from 22% to 33% and from 39% to 42%.

The growing interest of Russians in “wintering” in Asia in Ostrovok.ru is associated with the emergence of many tourists the opportunity to work remotely.

The service refers to its own survey, which took place at the beginning of 2020: then 18% of respondents indicated that they would like to leave for the “wintering”, but cannot combine this format with work. Another factor in Ostrovok.ru is the redistribution of demand: it is now technically easier and cheaper for Russians to go to Asia than to Europe.

Representative of OnlineTur.ru Igor Blinov calls Thailand the main option available to Russians for long trips. According to Ostrovok.ru, this country accounts for 12% of bookings for more than three weeks, compared to 6% in pre-pandemic 2019. In “Yandex. Travel” indicate that 15% of sold tickets to Thailand for the winter involve a long trip. During the year, this figure increased five times.

Sri Lanka can be an alternative to Thailand, but this country is traditionally less popular with Russians, Igor Blinov believes. However, market participants are already noting a double demand of Russians for long trips to Sri Lanka, as well as to India.

Thailand’s popularity may be partly due to its relatively low travel budget. On average, according to Ostrovok.ru, Russians pay 4,000 rubles for accommodation in this country. per day. For comparison: in the Maldives, a similar budget is 21 thousand rubles. per day, in Cambodia – 6.4 thousand rubles, in Sri Lanka – 5.4 thousand rubles.

Alexandra Mertsalova