Results of the 2022 tourist season: rest at home - period!

In addition, high-quality all-inclusive holidays in Russia are many times more expensive than abroad.

Irina Mishina

Why tour operators offer abroad?

From personal experience, I can say that the cost of last year's vacation in Anapa in the 4-star park-hotel "Azure Coast" (where, by the way, our whole family caught rotavirus and could not appreciate the delights of the sea due to its pollution with sewage) for the price caught up with this year's holidays in the Turkish "five" on the "all inclusive" system. Having visited the site of the Anapa hotel for the sake of interest, I realized: if we had chosen a vacation there this year, it would have seemed more expensive than our Turkish vacation by at least 50 thousand rubles.

Having called travel companies and tour operators, we came across an interesting moment. When asked about offers at Russian resorts, travel agency employees in almost every case recommended foreign holidays.

“For the same money you will get “all inclusive”, the first line, guaranteed good weather and service,” travel agency managers assured us. So, the manager of Pegas Touristik Margarita Z. explained:

“Now you can, of course, take a tour to Sochi in two or three stars for 50 thousand for a week, but this is without meals. Single hotels operate on the all-inclusive system in Russia. Egypt will now cost for two on average about 200 thousand for a week, this is with a flight. Turkey, three or four stars, for a week in the summer cost 60 thousand per person, 70 for two persons. But in Turkish hotels almost always "all inclusive". In Russia, on the Black Sea coast, you can also find a comfortable hotel on the first coastline for 200 thousand for a week for two. But "all inclusive" is unlikely to be offered to you. Of course, there are such hotels on the Black Sea coast, but there the cost is more than 500 thousand for two for a week - in the Riviera, for example. There are even more expensive offers,” explained the Pegas Touristik manager.

Tez tour manager Yana started offering the most popular destinations from Turkey and Egypt. According to her, a Turkish four-star all-inclusive hotel will now cost 150 thousand rubles for 10 days for two. Egypt - 140-150 thousand rubles, a little cheaper. “If you want all-inclusive and clean sea, choose abroad,” Yana advised. – We have practically no hotels on the Black Sea coast that operate on an all-inclusive basis. But I can offer for 10 days "Radisson Sochi" 5 stars - 487 thousand rubles for two plus a child for 10 days, respectively, 211 thousand for two. But this price includes only breakfast. In Anapa, there are no offers from 5-star hotels now, besides, there are only bus tours there. There is a bus tour to the 4-star Côte d'Azur - 82 thousand per person, ”the Tez tour manager explained to us.

The choice of most Russians is our resorts

But one thing is the recommendations of tour operators, another thing is the choice of Russians. The analytical service ATOR (Association of Tour Operators of Russia), based on booking statistics for June-August, found out which resorts Russian tourists preferred in the summer of 2022 and how much it cost them. The TOP-3 of the summer of 2022 included Russian resorts, Turkey and Abkhazia. At the same time, tours to Turkey have risen in price by almost 2 times, mainly due to the increased cost of flights. However, this did not make them less popular.

In the first place in terms of the total number of tourists with a large margin from competitors - Russia. According to preliminary ATOR estimates, in the three summer months of 2022, only the mass beach resorts of Russia on the Black Sea and the Baltic and the resorts of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody received about 13 million tourists. For comparison: over the same period, a little more than 2.1 million tourists came to Turkey from Russia, and about 800 thousand tourists and sightseers came to Abkhazia. Probably, these figures could be even higher if Crimea were available.

“The sagging of the tourist flow in Crimea and a slight decrease in the Krasnodar Territory due to closed airports in the South of Russia this year was offset by an increase in the number of domestic tourists in other regions - primarily in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Caucasian Mineralnye Vody, Dagestan and many other regions” , - says the head of the tour operator "Dolphin" Sergey Romashkin .

In general, the domestic summer tourist flow of 2022 in Russia has outgrown pre-pandemic values. Over the three summer months of 2022, it exceeded the values of the same period in 2019 by at least 5%. As the honorary president of the PCT Sergei Shpilko explained, the choice of domestic resorts by Russians is due to several factors: “There is a familiar environment, there is no language barrier. We should not forget that many have fallen under sanctions, security forces and many officials cannot leave. Besides, not everyone likes long flights.”

If we talk about domestic Russian tourism, the most popular were the beaches of the Krasnodar Territory. Demand for September tours there is 30-40% higher than a year ago. And this despite the fact that the airports of Anapa and Gelendzhik are still closed. Airplanes fly to Sochi, and this ensures the flow of tourists not only to this resort, but also to neighboring Abkhazia. Now Abkhazia is in second place in popularity, after Sochi and ahead of the Crimea, as well as the Kaliningrad region.

Crimea, with which there is no air communication now, in principle, will lose up to half of the guests in September compared to last year, predicts Sergey Romashkin, Vice President of ATOR, General Director of the Dolphin tour operator.

Oleg Kozyrev, Marketing Director of Travelata.ru, a tour search and booking service, summarizes : “ In summer, tourists most often choose to vacation in Turkey in five-star hotels with an all-inclusive system, despite a strong rise in prices. Such a holiday has risen in price by an average of one and a half times. Among Russian destinations, Sochi remains the most popular. The choice is predictable given the closed airports in Crimea, Anapa, Gelendzhik. In the velvet season, we expect an increase in the popularity of such destinations as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, and Thailand. However, Turkey will retain its leadership in sales in the fall. Russian resorts will remain in the top 3 as the most budget option .”

Vacation in September

However, compare yourself. The average price tag for a vacation in September, per 1 person, was presented to us at ATOR .

Sochi

Anapa

These are the prices for tours with a bus transfer from Moscow due to closed airports and a shortage of train tickets

Caucasian Mineral Waters

The cost of tours includes a flight from Moscow.

Gelendzhik

The road is not included in the price.

Crimea

The price includes transfer by train from Moscow.

Kaliningrad region

The price includes a flight from Moscow.

The most popular overseas resorts in the velvet season

Abkhazia

The price includes a flight to Sochi from Moscow and a transfer to Abkhazia.

Turkey

The price includes a flight from Moscow.

Egypt

With a flight from Moscow.

UAE

However, there are other directions as well. An analysis of all available offers suggests that there is a holiday for every budget. For example, you can get to Cyprus for 120 thousand rubles. For this money, you will be placed in a two-star hotel in Larnaca, 200 meters from the coastline. For a more comfortable stay, you will have to pay 311 thousand. For this money, you will be accommodated in a five-star hotel two minutes from the famous Nissi Beach in Ayia Napa.

You can go to India for 179 thousand rubles for two. The voucher provides accommodation in a four-star hotel. But the package only includes breakfast. The tour includes 10 days and 9 nights.

You can relax in Thailand for 246 thousand rubles. The tour involves accommodation in a five-star hotel on the white sandy beach of Phuket, 80 meters from the sea. The most expensive tour to Thailand that we managed to find will cost 3.7 million rubles. The package includes accommodation in a five-star hotel in the resort town of Khao Lak, a secluded resort in Phang Nga province. For your money, you will be offered the sea 90 meters from the hotel, panoramic views of the Andaman Sea, as well as free Wi-Fi, SPA and massage.

A budget tour to Cuba can be purchased from 278 thousand. The word "budget" should be understood as rooms in a two-star hotel, you will have to swim on a public beach, it takes about 15 minutes to walk to it. If you want to relax in comfort, prices for tours start from 388 thousand rubles. The voucher provides accommodation in a five-star hotel in the most famous resort city of Cuba, Varadero.

A trip to the Bulgarian beach will cost you from 212 thousand rubles. If you choose a five-star hotel, you will be placed on the first coastline. But the tour operator warns: you should not expect much from a set of services - the rest promises to be simple.

Those for whom the beauty of nature is more important than comfort can purchase a tour to Montenegro from 136 thousand rubles. For this price, accommodation in a two-star hotel for 7 nights and breakfast only is expected. For a comfortable stay and the same 7 nights, you will have to pay from 173 thousand rubles. But the tour also includes only breakfast. But this is a five-star hotel complex of 5 villas in the village of Sveti Stefan and panoramic views. The beach, however, is far away - as much as 1.4 kilometers.

How much is a budget vacation in Russia?

A tour to Abkhazia can now be purchased from 92 thousand rubles. For this money at your service - a three-star boarding house "Bagripsh" in Gagra, which is located 150 meters from the Black Sea.

If we talk about holidays in the Krasnodar Territory , a trip to Dagomys is the cheapest - from 112 thousand rubles. The most expensive - 324 thousand rubles - will cost a tour with accommodation in a four-star hotel near the resort of Matsesta, which is known for its hydrogen sulfide sources.

A tour to Kaliningrad will cost from 44 thousand rubles. There is no sea in the city itself, and if you want the beauties of the Baltic, you can go to Svetlogorsk. Rest in a five-star hotel on the coast of the Baltic Sea will cost 244 thousand rubles, but only breakfast is included.

You can visit Dagestan by paying for a tour from 63 thousand rubles. At your service is a three-star hotel in the Kilichny district, a 10-minute walk from the Caspian Sea. From the windows, the tour operator promises, amazing views of the mountains and the sea open up. Leisure is the business of vacationers themselves, from food only breakfast. You will have to look for food for lunch and dinner outside the hotel.

Russians traveled this summer not only by plane. The OneTwoTrip service summed up the travel results of the summer of 2022 and named the vacation destinations most often chosen by Moscow residents. The top popular air and railway destinations for the year include St. Petersburg, Sochi and Nizhny Novgorod. Analysts also note that Muscovites flew abroad much more often this summer. 19% of air orders were issued to other countries (in 2021 - 8%). The top 10 destinations included Tajikistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia.

A quality holiday in Russia is more expensive than abroad. But about this - not a word!

Analyzing the difference in the cost of foreign and domestic tours, we are faced with one mysterious circumstance. Almost all Russian structures related to tourism refused to comment on the reason for the difference in cost between Russian and foreign resorts.

“The FAS issues warnings to us for pedaling the topic of high prices for holidays within Russia,” shared one of the leaders of the Russian tourism industry.

However, some assumptions about the difference in cost between Russian and foreign tours can be made.

First of all, it is difficult and not always correct to compare the cost of holidays in Russia and abroad, because we simply do not have such 5-star all-inclusive hotels, as, for example, in Turkey, or there are few of them in Russia. Only in Turkish Belek there are more than 50 5-star hotels. We do not have so many on the entire Black Sea coast. Accordingly, the cost of similar Russian hotels is higher due to the fact that there are few of them. Now, within the framework of national projects, such hotels, however, are being built. The Anapa four-star "Riviera" is not inferior to the Turkish "fives", but a tour there, of course, costs fabulous money.

“We have a scarce market for good hotels. Inflation and costs also affect the cost. Prices for tours are also rising because the cost of goods and services is rising. Household chemicals, food products, utilities and so on become more expensive. Plus, the fiscal burden is growing, taxes on land, property, it is necessary to increase the salaries of staff. The tax burden plays a big role, it is certainly lower abroad. And there the state support system is more powerful”, - a source in one of the largest associations of the Russian tourism industry told NI.

Of course, the state does a lot for the hotel industry, for example, last year it was decided to zero VAT on hotel accommodation services. But at the same time, VAT on food has not been reset. High-quality and modern 5-star Russian hotels with an all-inclusive system can be counted on the fingers. This is probably why we have a tour to a decent hotel somewhere in Sochi costs about the same as a trip to the Maldives.