Tourists swim shallowly – Kommersant

The surge in interest in Russian river cruises last year has begun to slow down ahead of this summer season. Cruise sales for this summer are up 10-15% yoy, up from a 35% increase last season. The operators, which have increased the number of vessels employed in cruises in the Russian Federation, have already encountered difficulties with loading part of the fleet, but the business is not yet ready to reduce the cost of tours.

The rate of growth in demand for river cruises has slowed down. According to Andrey Mikhailovsky, General Director of Infoflot, the number of bookings for the summer exceeds last year by 10-15%, and in 2022 the number of Russians who went on cruises increased by 35%, to 320,000 people. The current dynamics will continue until the end of the year, he expects. Sergey Romashkin, general director of the Dolphin tour operator, says that due to strong demand during the early booking period, the number of cruises sold increased by 15% yoy, while current sales remain approximately at last year’s level. Ilya Sukhovolsky, deputy general director for development at Vodokhod, says that his company plans to serve 138,000 tourists this season, up 14% from a year earlier.

Mr. Mikhailovsky connects the restrained growth of the market with the refusal of tourist cashback, but notes the remaining organic growth in demand for cruises. Demand dynamics could also be affected by the recovery of outbound tourist traffic. According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, based on the database of the FSB border service, in the first quarter, Russians made 2.47 million trips to 20 key tourist destinations. Year on year, the indicator grew by 90%, remaining 11% below the level of the first quarter of 2019.

The slowdown in demand for cruise vacations has coincided with an increase in the fleet.

According to Vodokhod estimates, 103 motor ships are currently working with Russian tourists, which is 17 ships more than a year earlier. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a third of the market was occupied by foreign tourists, and some ships focused only on them, Andrey Mikhailovsky notes. Now, he says, there are “free places” on the ships, and a year earlier, in May-June, the ships were completely filled. Ilya Sukhovolsky believes that the supply of cruises may exceed the demand for certain destinations.

The owner of “Doninturflot” Mikhail Kovalev speaks about the difficulties with loading due to the increase in the volume of supply. “Many tourists do not yet know the product, and the program is about the same for everyone,” he notes. The company, the businessman continues, is also negatively affected by the limited operation of the Rostov-on-Don airport, which is why you can only get to the city to go on a cruise by train or by car. There is no talk yet about the resumption of the flow of foreign guests on cruise routes. Andrei Mikhailovsky says that there are a small number of summer bookings from groups from China, but operators work with them in the general flow, without singling out individual vessels. Sergey Romashkin notes that the demand of tourists from Asian countries for river cruises is generally limited: this type of holiday in Russia has traditionally attracted more guests from Europe.

Mikhail Kovalev considers the relatively high cost of cruises to be another deterrent to demand.

According to Infoflot, the price of one cruise day in the regions starts from 5.5 thousand rubles, in Moscow and St. Petersburg – from 7.5 thousand rubles. During the year, prices rose by 10-12%, mainly due to increased costs, Andrey Mikhailovsky notes. “Only our salaries have grown by an average of 35% over the year, there are not enough people, and employees need to be retained,” adds Mr. Kovalev. According to him, the opportunities for price reduction in such conditions are limited for operators.

Sergei Romashkin clarifies that the final cost of cruises varies greatly. If a three-day cruise on the route Moscow-Uglich-Myshkin-Moscow is available for 16-17 thousand rubles, then the cost of an 18-day cruise to Astrakhan starts from 130-140 thousand rubles, he says. Ilya Sukhovolsky calls cruises from Moscow to St. Petersburg and back, to the Solovetsky Islands, to Valaam, along the Golden Ring, as well as short trips from Moscow to Tver, Myshkin, Rybinsk and Uglich, the most popular in the country for the summer.

Alexandra Mertsalova