Tours are not afraid of joints – Kommersant

The expansion of flight programs and the emergence of connecting flights stimulated the activity of tourists this summer season. Sales of organized tours increased 1.5-2 times year-on-year, despite an increase in the average check by 30%, and Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates became the most popular foreign destinations. The share of Russia in the structure of demand has fallen sharply, but during the season the demand for domestic tours may still grow.

Sales of organized tours for the summer by mid-May doubled compared to the same period in 2022, according to Travelata.ru. The dynamics was not hindered by an increase in the average cost of a booked foreign tour by 31.4%, to 208.4 thousand rubles, and an internal one by 30.4%, to 91.6 thousand rubles. Sletat.ru reports a 58% year-on-year increase in sales. Intourist representative Daria Domostroyeva says that the pronounced growth in sales in all directions is explained by the low base of last year, the expansion of flight programs and the emergence of new destinations. “Over the year, flights with connections were formed, focused specifically on Russian tourists, which is why Montenegro, without direct transportation, turned out to be tenth in demand for the summer,” she says.

According to Travelata.ru, Turkey remains the most popular destination for organized tourism with a share of 48% of summer sales compared to 33% a year earlier. The average cost of booking for the year increased by 27.2%, to 221.3 thousand rubles. In second place among foreign destinations, according to Sletat.ru, is Egypt with 10% of sales. A year earlier, the country accounted for only 1.4% due to limited air traffic. The average cost of a booked tour to Egypt increased by 30.8% over the year, to 190.5 thousand rubles. The UAE, according to Sletat.ru, accounts for 4.1% of summer tours against 1.9% a year earlier. The average check when booking increased by 23%, to 205.2 thousand rubles. For independent travelers this summer, according to OneTwoTrip, Yerevan, Istanbul, Antalya, Bishkek and Denpasar (Bali) are in the lead. According to Yandex.Travel estimates, the demand for air travel abroad increased by an average of 77.6% over the year, and the cost by 1.5 times.

Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin believes that the outbound tourist flow in all directions this year can grow by at least 20%, but the dynamics will greatly depend on the specific location. In particular, Mr. Gorin expects sales growth in Turkey, counting on a decrease in the cost of hotels in the foreseeable future, and good dynamics in the countries of Southeast Asia. Daria Domostroeva also expects good dynamics in the UAE, noting that this direction is often cheaper than Turkey.

The executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Maya Lomidze, due to the overall high cost of foreign holidays, admits that this summer season the outbound tourist flow will be comparable to last year or will decrease.

The expansion of directions may become positive for the market. This week, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the resumption of flights with Georgia, and the Russian Foreign Ministry canceled the recommendation not to sell tours to the country. According to Ostrovok.ru, this led to an eight-fold increase in the number of searches for accommodation facilities in Georgia per day, and 20% increase in bookings. According to Dmitry Gorin, tour operators have already begun to offer package tours to Georgia, and the total number of trips to the country this year may exceed 1 million against 873.4 thousand in 2022. But, Mr. Gorin notes, the tourist capacity of the destination is relatively small. “All countries of the post-Soviet space form approximately 7% of all tour sales, with Georgia the figure can reach 9%,” he says.

The share of Russia in sales of organized tours for the summer decreased to 21% against 51% a year earlier, calculated in Travelata.ru. Another 8% of demand fell on Abkhazia, where the cost of booking for the year increased by 34.7%, to 104.8 thousand rubles. Maya Lomidze believes that the tourist flow in Russia in the summer can still grow by 10-15% compared to last year. In Ostrovok.ru, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Moscow, Anapa and Kaliningrad are the most popular domestic destinations for the summer months in terms of hotel bookings.

Alexandra Mertsalova