Russian Tourism Trade: Restoration in Sight?
The Russian tourism industry has reported the first signs of recovery from the Covid crisis. According to experts, despite a clearly negative year in 2020, the tourism sector is currently seeing some effect of lagging demand. In general, an estimated 7 to 8 million Russians will relax abroad this year. This is four times more than in 2020.
Around 70% of the expected income of companies in the tourism sector was lost. However, thanks to cost reductions, the overall financial picture on an annual basis doesn’t seem so bad. In addition, experts agree that some travel agencies have been forced to close, but those in the market who “survived” were able to sell even more than before.
7-8 million Russians travel abroad
Countries that have opened up to tourists are trying to take advantage of Russian citizens’ desire to travel. The most attractive destinations for Russians are the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives. These destinations successfully managed to attract Russian tourists with reasonable prices and a high quality product.
Despite this positive trend, Turkey is likely to remain the most popular country for Russian tourists in 2021. The outflow to classic travel destinations such as Greece, Tunisia and Cyprus is also likely to be relatively high, but only if the respective countries open their borders.
However, for now, domestic tourism remains the preferred solution in Russia as 75-80% of people are interested in this type of travel this year. In this regard, it is reported that domestic tourism could grow by 10-15% this year.
The cashback program will continue
To further promote this growth, the Russian government has launched the third stage of its cashback program.
The conditions of the program remain the same as in the first two phases. Tourists receive 20% of the cost of the tour or accommodation in the country. The maximum amount returned is 20,000 rubles, and it is possible to travel to any region of the Russian Federation.
According to the authorities of the Russian tourism industry, 40% more partners take part in the third stage of the program. This corresponds to around 3.5 thousand hotels, tour operators and service aggregators.
