Summer vacation results

Russians made more than 5 million trips to foreign countries in the summer

The ATOR Analytical Service (Association of Tour Operators of Russia) conducted a preliminary assessment of the summer season, and it turns out that this season is not much, no more than 10%, but still slightly better than the previous one.

LET’S START with outbound tourism. In June–August 2024, tourists from Russia (both organized and independent) made about 5.15 million trips to foreign countries. This is 8.4% more than in the three summer months in 2023. Almost 90% of all foreign visits this summer, Russians predictably made to five countries of mass tourism: Turkey, Abkhazia, the UAE, Egypt and Thailand (the countries are arranged in descending order of tourist flow).

According to tour operators (TO), the average check for package tours with flights this summer per person was: to Abkhazia – 65 thousand rubles, to Egypt – 95 thousand rubles, to Thailand – 104 thousand rubles, to the UAE – 106 thousand rubles and to Turkey – 115 thousand rubles. Among the trends of the past season, respondents note an increase in demand for China and summer Thailand and the “replacement” of budget Europe with summer Georgia.

Domestic tourism. ATOR estimates that about 48-50 million travelers went on trips to Russia over the three summer months, 60% of them are independent travelers. Nevertheless, tour operators sent 8% more tourists on vacation than last summer. In addition, it is noted that the booking depth has increased dramatically. Top 5 destinations in Russia among tour operators: resorts of the Krasnodar Territory – 62% of all tour bookings in Russia, Crimea – 12%, Kavminvody – 7%, St. Petersburg – 6%, Moscow and the Moscow region – 5%.

The main surprise of the season is the fact that of the massive summer domestic destinations, Crimea showed the largest increase in organized tourist traffic this summer. Among the trends, tour operators note the continuing growing popularity of auto tourism and weekend tours.

Import substitution

Sollers has launched the production of tourist buses in Vladivostok. Currently, the fleet of tourist and intercity buses in Russia is represented mainly by imported analogues. The launch of a new production facility will close the demand of the Russian market for buses for transportation along tourist routes.

Tourist boats with transparent bottoms, built at the Yaroslavl shipyard, will start cruising in Sochi. They are designed for 20 people who will be able to comfortably observe the life of the inhabitants of the underwater world, enjoying a boat trip. So far, the start dates of the walks and even the preliminary cost have not been announced.

When is it more profitable to fly

A large domestic travel service studied the sales of air tickets for the year and built the dynamics of price changes for the most profitable tickets. According to him, it is cheaper to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg in the first winter months – in December and January. It is better to go to Sochi from the capital in the first half of January, it is more profitable to fly to Kazan in late November – the first half of December. It is cheaper to travel to Kaliningrad by plane in the first half of December and in the second half of January – then tickets are 44% cheaper. And if you decide to take a walk around Istanbul, then you will find a pleasant airfare if you go on a trip in November – mid-December or from January to mid-February.

From the courtroom

A resident of Buryatia was not allowed to rest in Pattaya because of the forgetfulness of the bailiff. Moreover, restrictions on the use of cars and real estate were lifted, but the ban on traveling abroad remained in the database. To return the amount of an eight–day tour – more than 210 thousand rubles for three people (the daughter and mother of the victim did not fly to Thailand either) – the travel agent and the tour operator did not succeed (the trip was not their fault), so the woman filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Republic of Buryatia. And the court decided to return the cost of the tour to the plaintiff from the budget of the Russian Federation, compensate for moral damage in the amount of 10 thousand rubles, as well as pay state duty – only about 230 thousand rubles.

The director of the travel agency “Paradigm” Sergey M., who deceived 92 tourists for 17 million rubles, was sentenced by the Butyrsky district court of Moscow to eight years in a penal colony. The civil claims of the victims have also been fully satisfied.

Visa News

According to the decision of the Lankan authorities, visa-free travel for citizens of Russia and 37 other countries came into force on September 1, although it was originally planned to launch on October 1. In fact, nothing will change for Russians. For tourist purposes, it is still possible to enter Sri Lanka for up to 30 days. To date, Russian citizens have been issued a free visa upon arrival. Now there will be no such formality.

New Zealand will increase the tourist tax three times from October 1 – up to 100 New Zealand dollars (approximately 62 US dollars). All categories of visas, including tourist visas, will also become more expensive – the visa fee for a tourist visa to New Zealand will increase from 210 to 341 New Zealand dollars (approximately 210 US dollars).

Excessive tourism

Indonesian authorities have imposed a moratorium on the construction of hotels in Bali to protect rural heritage and communal lands from the negative impact of excessive tourism. And this is only the first measure – now the government of the country is conducting an audit of the tourism industry to improve the quality of tourism.

The popular mountain resort in the south of the country, Zermatt, plans to charge an entrance fee for day tourists. The city is located at an altitude of about 1600 m at the foot of the Matterhorn Mountain. There is a high-altitude ski area and the longest ski season in the Alps. There are many tourists in Zermatt both in summer and winter, many of whom do not stay in the town overnight. The local municipality wants to introduce an entrance fee for such visitors, following the example of Venice. The amount being discussed is 12 euros, which is 2-4 times more than in an Italian city (5 euros). They will collect money from tourists through a mobile application.

The authorities of Rome are planning to introduce a fee for visiting the Trevi fountain – the ticket will be free for local residents and a symbolic 1-2 euros for tourists. The mayor of the city, Roberto Gualtieri, called the plan with tickets “quite possible”, because, in his opinion, many tourists cannot even enjoy the beauty of the fountain, as it is often impossible to approach it.

Santorini, as promised, imposed restrictions on the number of cruise tourists – the port authorities set a limit of 500 guests at a time at the pier from all ships waiting at the pier to board the cable car, as well as shuttles to return to their ships. Once this limit is reached, cruise ships will be asked to reduce the operation of the water shuttle until the queue at the pier decreases.

Mafia outside of tourism

Mafia souvenirs have been banned in the Sicilian town of Agrigento. Local authorities considered that T-shirts, mugs and other items depicting famous mafia characters such as Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather defame the reputation of the region and reinforce negative stereotypes. The mayor of Agrigento, one of the largest tourist centers in Sicily, Francesco Micicke, said that the sale of such goods “humiliates a community striving for a culture of legality.” Violators of the ban will face checks and fines.

In addition to the ban in Agrigento, the Sicilian authorities instructed to stop the sale of such souvenirs at the airports of Palermo, Catania and Trapani in order to minimize the spread of negative symbols among tourists.

Tourism in 2040

The international audit and consulting corporation Deloitte and the multinational corporation Google have presented a joint study that covers the development of global tourism until 2040. According to experts, by this year, 2.4 billion people will travel around the world, 74% of whom will choose countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region for their trips. The majority of travelers, as in 2019, will be from China, the United States, Great Britain and Germany. But in 2040, India will also be included in the list.

According to analysts, based on the dynamics of incoming flows to different regions and countries of the world since 1990, in 2040. Spain will become the most visited tourist destination with 110 million arrivals, surpassing France (105 million) and the United States (100 million) in this indicator. The top 10 in terms of the number of foreign tourists will also include China, Mexico and Italy (90 million each), Turkey (85 million), Saudi Arabia (80 million), Thailand (75 million), Germany (65 million), the United Kingdom (60 million), as well as Japan and Malaysia (both – 50 million).

Recall that, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), France became the world leader in the number of tourists in 2023. About 100 ln travelers visited this country. Spain is in second place (85 million), the USA is in third place (66 million guests).

Aviation Oscar

The rating of the best airlines in the world has been published as part of the World Airline Awards 2024 from the influential consulting company Skytrax, specializing in studying the quality of services provided by various airlines and airports. The Skytrax rating is considered the most prestigious aviation Oscar. This is what the top ten looks like:

1. Qatar Airways.

2. Singapore Airlines.

3. Emirates.

4. All Nippon Airways (ANA).

5. Cathay Pacific.

6. Japan Airlines.

7. Turkish Airlines.

8. EVA Air.

9. Air France.

10. Swiss Int’l Air Lines.

Qatar Airways took the first place in the category of business class flights, and Japan Airlines took the first place in the category of premium economy class flights. Turkish Airlines was named the best airline in Europe.

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Источник: argumenti.ru