Expert opinion.
Tourism in Russia is rapidly changing, new trends are constantly replacing those that the travel industry has been focusing on for years: sanctions, visa restrictions, etc. are affecting. At the same time, new opportunities tend to arise in place of lost ones. One of these examples was given in the author’s column on Profi.Travel expert of the National Union of Camping and Auto Tourism Industry Professionals Andrey Artyukhov. He spoke about the potential of inbound car tourism.
“The most important markets for the development of inbound car tourism in Russia are Turkey and China. There are now more than 235,000 caravanning families in Turkey, and this type of tourism is actively developing in China today and is currently estimated at 150,000 families. This is without taking into account motorists in ordinary cars — of course, there are many more of them. Motorists from Belarus and Kazakhstan are also very interested in traveling in Russia.
Another potential destination is Fly&Drive tours, in which tour operators take tourists by car along specially designed routes. We have had the experience of receiving such tourists from India, Pakistan, the UAE and other countries of the Middle East. Usually such a tour lasts two to three weeks and includes accommodation in 3-4 star hotels.
The advantage of autotourism for our country is that such tourists do not need much. They don’t care about the cost and availability of air travel, they don’t worry about the service and the level of hotels. All they need are service parking lots for maintenance of equipment and campsites. And, of course, safety and awareness.
The promotion of the potential of auto tourism in Russia should be carried out at specialized exhibitions for caravanners. Such events are held in most friendly countries, primarily in Turkey and China. The second direction for the promotion of caravanning in In Russia, this is working with specialized caravanning clubs in Kazakhstan, Belarus, China, and Turkey. Fly&Drive tours can be promoted at any specialized travel exhibitions. An important part of the promotion is the bloggers associated with auto tourism, whom we can invite to special promotional tours.
The main constraints for the development of inbound motor tourism are, firstly, visa issues. For road travelers, a visa for 15-30 days is needed, that is, an electronic visa with its current conditions is not suitable for them. The second is the insurance of tourists and motor vehicles: it is necessary to work with insurance companies in the above—mentioned countries. And the third is the development of the infrastructure of service areas and campsites, as well as the training of specialized tour operators who form travel products for motorists.”
You can learn more details about inbound auto tourism from Andrey Artyukhov at the “Open Tribune”, which will be held as part of the strategic session of the Russian Union of Travel Industry on inbound Tourism next Friday, February 2, Friday, you can register for the event here.
Photo: Andrey Artyukhov
English 
Russian 
German 
Polish