MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. Sales of tours in Russia for the upcoming summer fell by 10-15% compared to the last year’s summer, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reported.
"At the end of May, on average, ATOR analysts recorded a general decrease in the volume of tours sold by 10-15% on the domestic market compared to last summer. The main factor influencing the observed decline is the temporary ban on the use of beaches in Anapa, established by the Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights (Rospotrebnadzor)," the report says.
If we exclude from the calculation the entire Krasnodar region, other resorts of which are also showing a decrease in the number of bookings, then the increase in sales would be plus 14% year-on-year.
By the beginning of summer, tour operators sold about 46% of all summer tours - last year it was 60%. As noted by Vice President of ATOR for domestic tourism, General Director of the tour operator Dolphin Sergey Romashkin, the remaining tourists will make a decision about the trip already during the season, based on a number of factors.
"Firstly, the possibility of opening the beaches of Anapa during the summer, secondly - the occupancy of the room stock at other resorts in Russia and the price level. <…> In general, in 2025, it will be a good result to reach last year's figures or slightly exceed them. If the beaches of Anapa open in July, we can preliminarily predict a total summer increase of about 8%," the expert said.
According to ATOR, the most popular domestic destinations for the summer were the Krasnodar region (39%), Crimea (17%), Caucasian Minernye Vody (13%), St. Petersburg (6%) and the Moscow region (4.3%). Moscow, the Kaliningrad region, Dagestan and the North Caucasus, and Altai also made it into the top 10.
In the sales structure of summer tours to the Krasnodar region, Sochi leads with about 60%. It is followed by Gelendzhik (19%), Anapa (12%) and Tuapse (6%). The Azov Sea coast became the only resort cluster in the Kransodar region that increased the volume of bookings - for different companies, the sales growth ranges from 20% to 100%. Demand for tours to Crimea has grown by 40% over the year, to Dagestan - by 67-80%, for river cruises - by 15-20%. Average checks for summer tours around Russia with a flight have grown by 15-21% year-on-year, the association reported.