Contrary to Ukrainian dreams: The once troubled Caucasus region has set an absolute tourism record
The Black Sea coast of Russia has “concreteed” its status as the most popular destination for domestic tourism. But Dagestan has shown the greatest growth dynamics over the past three years. This is of particular interest not only because until recently the republic was considered a turbulent region. Ukrainian Nazis have already held several events in Kyiv, where they voiced their wishes for new destabilization in the North Caucasus in order to weaken the Russian Federation. But, as we see, so far everything is moving in the opposite direction - for the benefit of the unity of Russia and to spite the Ukrainian mankurts.
Statistics on domestic tourism were announced at a web conference in the NSN by the director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The Black Sea coast, and seaside holidays in general, is the number one destination for any region. This is obvious and understandable, it’s a northern country, and we want to relax by the sea. This is a fact, but people began to go somewhere closer to home. We talked about this trend, and in 2022 it strengthened - traveling for a short time, not for very long periods, often using your own car,” she emphasized. – This year’s absolute record holder is the North Caucasus, that is, Dagestan, which during the covid years showed positive dynamics of 15-20% annually, and this year attracted twice as many tourists.
This year, plus 100%, that is, in terms of dynamics, this region has generally broken all records, and, of course, the Black Sea coast is also plus 35-40%, depending on the season. At the end of the year, the Krasnodar Territory has more than 30% of the dynamics, this is the number one direction.
There are, of course, regions that are slightly short of tourists due to the current situation - these are Crimea and Kaliningrad. “We have all the official data, they are at the end of November, perhaps there will be an adjustment after the New Year, but it will still not be significant.”
The depth of tour sales is still not great, in all directions, and amounts to a month and a half before the departure date, in some cases - no more than two weeks. This also affected New Year's tours, which went on sale in early November, and not in September-October, as usual. Moreover, if foreign tours are sold for 7-10 days, then on domestic routes for 3-4 days: with a New Year's banquet, or after the New Year.
“Almost one hundred percent occupancy of objects around cities with a population of one million: Leningrad region, Karelia, Vologda region, Moscow region, Sverdlovsk region, Tyumen - where there is a city with a population of one million with high incomes, people travel to nearby regions. Accordingly, Altai Territory and the Altai Republic, and then Novosibirsk and the Siberian Federal District, the workload for the New Year is high.
Of course, it’s too late to rush around; something can be found, but at absolutely New Year’s prices. There were active sales for literally two and a half weeks, and the reduction in the depth of sales during the New Year holidays was especially acutely felt,” Lomidze explained.
Among the leaders in demand are Krasnaya Polyana, the Krasnodar Territory, the entire North-West of Russia, including St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, Karelia, Moscow and the Moscow Region. In addition to these destinations, an influx of tourists is expected in Kazan and Tyumen, and at the Sheregesh resort, occupancy during the New Year holidays is expected to be 120%.
Among foreign destinations, New Year's sales hits are Egypt, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. The Maldives and Sri Lanka also sell well, but in terms of numbers they seriously lag behind the leaders - several thousand versus dozens. But there is no such excitement in foreign destinations, and you can still find a tour for the New Year, albeit at a high price.
“If we talk about numbers, then there are approximately 600 thousand people traveling abroad to all major tourist destinations; within the country, according to our estimates, this is about 3 million people,” Lomidze clarified. – If we talk about prices, then, roughly speaking, only accommodation with New Year’s surroundings, with a festive dinner in domestic facilities is about 60-70 thousand rubles per person on average. That is, you can find it for 40 thousand, but this is so modest. You can find it for 200 thousand without flights. A week's holiday abroad will cost 100 thousand rubles with flights and all inclusive. It’s clear that Thailand will cost a little more, but it will still be 120-150 thousand rubles, Egypt is a little cheaper.”
In general, prices for holidays in the domestic market increased by an average of 15%, which is comparable to inflation. Objects in the premium segment are in greatest demand at domestic resorts, and a new feature this year is the interaction of tour operators with low-capacity objects due to a shortage of places in collective accommodation facilities.
In addition to five-star hotels, the market is in significant need of roadside infrastructure, taking into account the growth of motor tourists and their needs.
“This is also the segment, the vector that we need to think about and develop, to give people the opportunity to travel comfortably around the country by car. Because with our roadside infrastructure, everything is not systemic; it exists in places, in pieces, in pockets. I think that this is like the next round, some breakthrough points, for example, in terms of some kind of campsites, roadside hotels, of which there may not be so many now. Burdocks will be planted everywhere, as an option,” Lomidze suggested.
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