Where Russians plan to spend the New Year holidays 2013
Marina Kolesnik, CEO of Oktogo.ru: “Most often, Russians prefer New Year holidays at the ski resorts of Austria and Bulgaria, or on the beaches of the Dominican Republic and Thailand.”
The online hotel booking market is one of the fastest growing in the Russian tourism sector. Russian tourists are increasingly moving into the field of independent travel, planning their holidays via the Internet, including during the New Year holidays. About which of the destinations this winter will experience maximum demand and how active were the first of the already made “New Year” bookings, said the General Director of Oktogo.ru Marina Kolesnik.
During the New Year 2013, which destinations do you think will be the most popular?
As the statistics of our site show, Russian tourists on online hotel reservations from the last New Year holidays have little changed their preferences. In December and January, about 10% of all bookings for beach holidays are accounted for by Thailand. Also, about a third of the outbound tourist flow during this period is attracted by Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries, Italy and Finland. The same areas were leaders last year.
Will traditional New Year holiday destinations be able to remain popular, or will Russian tourists this time prefer less popular countries and cities?
Thailand is the undisputed favorite for beach holidays during the New Year holidays, thanks to the best offer for price and quality. The countries of the Caribbean are in demand - here you can note the increased popularity of the Dominican Republic, Mexico (especially the resort of Cancun), although it is difficult to name one clear leader. By the way, this year Mexico entered our Top 10, as the number of applications for December for this country was 4%. In Egypt, the bulk of hotel bookings occur after the New Year and related holidays.
What are the trends among the ski resorts?
The most popular destinations for lovers of skiing and snowboarding are Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria and France. The price-quality ratio is best in Austria, there are excellent conditions for outdoor activities. For a budget trip, we advise Bulgaria, and among the Russian ski resorts, the Ural and Krasnaya Polyana are the most popular.
Are you satisfied with the depth of sales? In general, how actively are hotels booked for the New Year holidays?
Travel to Europe most actively begin to book in November – early December. In general, hotel bookings for the New Year holidays began at the end of September - primarily travel to the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Latin America.
We can already note a fivefold increase in bookings in September, if we compare the figures for the same period last year. The first week of October brought a third of the bookings in October 2011. Among other things, the reason for this is the expansion of the Oktogo.ru hotel base, which now includes more than 250,000 hotels around the world and more than 4,000 Russian hotels.
Sooner or later, in your opinion, have tourists started to intensify their bookings for New Year’s destinations this year?
On average, Russian tourists book hotels 1.5 months before the trip - both in the summer season and during the New Year's holiday. This trend has been going on for several years now, so in November, we expect a noticeable increase in bookings.
Bookings for the New Year holidays are made more for holidays, or with the inclusion of dates December 31 – January 1?
Of the bookings made on our website, half cover the period of December 31 – January 1. Tourists begin to leave on December 24, wanting to include in the trip and Catholic Christmas. Many begin their vacation on December 28, on December 29 there is some decline, but December 30 is the most popular date for the “start” of the New Year holidays.
Most trips take 4-7 days - Russian tourists try to combine rest at home and travel. 30% of trips, the second wave, falls on January 2-3. According to our forecasts, the closer the New Year holidays are, the more the number of people who want to spend their holidays will be equalized compared to the number of those who want to celebrate the holidays themselves.
Do hotel prices rise strongly during the New Year holidays, and in which countries is this most noticeable?
The price change is almost invisible, it is not difficult to find an economy class number. But closer to the New Year, the choice will mainly be among the rooms of increased comfort and suites. Last year’s experience suggests that price increases could average between €30 and €50, but this is not common practice. In Scandinavia and the Baltics, for example, a hotel room costs €50-130 per night, in Germany, France or Austria from €150.