Christmas tourism boom in Russia

Previously, Russians traveled briefly on New Year’s Eve – across the country and beyond. Now the peak of the tourist season has shifted – this is the Christmas holidays, the first 10 days of January. Christmas travel offers in connection with increased demand are becoming more expensive, and Russians begin to show interest in them in August. By November – early December, you have to count only on “burning vouchers” if you want to relax with guaranteed comfort. Traveling audience realized: it is more profitable to go for a longer period immediately after the New Year than before it - only for 2 - for 3 days. This applies both to travel abroad and to Russia. Winter tourism products are becoming more popular due to the fact that Russians began to break their monthly vacations into pieces. As the head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Vladimir Strzhalkovsky notes, “now they often rest not only twice a year, but also three times a week, so the number of tourist trips is constantly increasing.” “In winter, holidays are becoming more popular, although the superiority of the summer season is still stable and unshakable,” the head of Rostourism said. The Russians bought up ski tours to the Alps in advance - Italian, French, Austrian. Among the favorites of beach holidays are Egypt, Thailand, the UAE and Turkey (there are more and more frequent not only in summer, but also in winter). They travel to these destinations in families. Since autumn, tickets to Egypt for school holidays, exciting days before the New Year and Christmas holidays are sold out. The middle class is increasingly moving to the Indian state of Goa in winter. Experts predict the future success of the Russians of Vietnam. Asian resorts slowly but surely win back tourists from European ones. And it's not about prices. Travel to Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand costs more than $1,500, and if the trip lasts longer than a week and/or covers several countries in a row, it will cost more than $2,500 – all comfortably. However, the Russian fashion for Asia, for its colorful and cheerful chic is stronger, i.e. “wins” prices. In fact, a trip to Thailand or Malaysia has already become an element of the image of a successful person. So, one by one, travel companies are opening, offering winter flights far to the southeast. According to tradition, lovers of cultural and educational tourism among the “winter” favorites are the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. People often go to Finland with children to visit Santa Claus in Lapland. Finnish holidays attract the opportunity to ski, Finnish sled, go to the Finnish bath. And the prices are reasonable: Aeroflot can fly for $315, the cost of a one-way Moscow-Helsinki ticket is $100. France has lost its popularity due to recent unrest. “In general, the number of Russian trips abroad is growing, and this suggests that the standard of living and well-being is rising,” commented Vladimir Strzhalkovsky. For foreigners to come to Russia in winter is also quite tempting. New Year and Christmas in Russia is the most bread-soling time: with ruddy pies, a dozen different salads, fried meat and fish in all kinds, salted mushrooms, sauerkraut, wet apples. The brand “Russian cuisine” is accompanied by the brand “folk songs and dances”. Usually foreigners themselves participate in exotic activities. Recently, foreign visitors have been moving to other countries. After all, according to the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), the package cost of a classic cultural and educational tour - Moscow and St. Petersburg, 8 days and 7 nights, which is chosen by 80-90% of foreign tourists - increased in 4 years by 2.5 - 3 times. The cost of transportation increased – air and land, visa registration, museums and restaurants. Travel to Europe can cost 500-700 euros per person, says the President of PCT Sergey Shpilko, a tour to Russia – twice as expensive, 1300-1400 euros (for families – 2500-3000 euros). Rising prices for tourist products, coupled with infrastructure problems, a shortage of tourist-class hotels - two-three-star, outdated transport make the tourist flow to Russia shallow. This is all the more insulting that new interesting tourist routes appear in Russia, their geography is expanding, says Sergey Shpilko. They are able to attract more and more tourists. This is the Far East, which offers wide opportunities for eco-tourism - the Khabarovsk Territory, the Amur Region (a cruise on the Amur is being promoted), the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands. This is Lake Baikal, and the Great Sayan Ring, which runs through Khakassia, Tuva, Krasnoyarsk Territory. It develops tourism and the North – fishing tours on the Kola Peninsula are in demand, tourism products of the North-West and the Volga region are promoted. “In Khanty-Mansiysk, they want to develop winter infrastructure, extreme tourism, many hotels have been built there,” says Vladimir Strzhalkovsky. “In terms of routes, Russia’s resources are not limited,” concludes Sergey Shpilko. The target program of the Federal Agency for Tourism "Tourist Centers of Russia" for the period 2006-2008 involves the development of domestic tourism in 12 regions. Gennady Pilipenko, Deputy Head of the Department for the Development of Domestic Tourism of the Federal Agency for Tourism, explains: “These are Siberia – Tyumen Region, Altai Territory, Omsk and Tomsk Regions (“Tobolsk was elected as a stronghold” of tourism), Southern Siberia with the Irkutsk Region, Buryatia, Central Russia – Moscow, Vladimir, Tver, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tambov and Kaluga Regions.” This is also the "Silver Ring" - St. Petersburg with the region, Novgorod and Pskov regions, the Republic of Karelia, the Russian North with Solovki, the Tula region with Yasna Polyana (the estate of Leo Tolstoy) in combination with the Orel region (Spasskoye-Lutovinovo - the family estate of Ivan Turgenev). Plus the Curonian Spit (district of Kaliningrad), the Golden Ring of Bashkortostan with Ufa, Salavat, Tatarstan, the Far East with Blagoveshchensky, Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kamchatka region. Experts believe that winter tourism should be developed in all these regions. The summer tourist season in Russia turns out to be quite short (the climate takes its toll), and it is short-sighted to bet on it, it is time to pay more attention to winter tourist products. In Moscow, for example, it makes sense to widely celebrate not only the New Year, Christmas – January 7, but also to actively popularize Maslenitsa – the turn from winter to spring, so that there are more folk festivals, ethnographic magnets for tourists. Both Christmas and Maslenitsa can spur event tourism, when guests from abroad come to the country for certain holidays, festivals, concerts. Inbound and domestic tourism, including winter tourism, could develop faster if not for tariffs, says Gennady Pilipenko. Every corner of Russia now has decent hotels, you can have a good rest. But prices bite, he said at a round table at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. However, the more or less wealthy middle class in its tourist rush before high prices does not stop. Places in hotels of the most prestigious Russian ski resort Krasnaya Polyana have long been booked. Other ski resorts also can not complain about the complete inattention of tourists. Much less extreme rest - in the suburban boarding houses - also turned out to be extremely popular, although 4 days of rest in the near Moscow region can cost more than $ 350. Bad are only vouchers to the far suburbs or where the quality of service is not guaranteed. Source: RIA Novosti