In the first quarter of 2023, hotel revenues rose by 32 percent as domestic travel surged. This uptick was noted by the business publication Kommersant, citing Rosstat’s processed data. The surge reflects a healthier domestic tourism cycle and a stronger willingness to spend on lodging within the home market, signaling a notable shift in consumer behavior and hotel performance during the early part of the year.
During January through March, the revenue of mass accommodation facilities climbed to 136.92 billion rubles, a 32 percent year-over-year increase. This growth was accompanied by an 18.5 percent rise in facility utilization compared with the previous year. Notably, this utilization metric was 17.7 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2019, marking the first such improvement since the onset of the pandemic and underscoring a return toward pre-crisis operating levels.
Industry observers attributed the visible gains in booking activity and average daily spend to a broadening travel appetite in the quarter. Moscow posted the strongest results, with hotel revenue up 40 percent to 22.5 billion rubles, driving the national performance. St. Petersburg followed, where revenues from collective accommodation facilities rose 24 percent year over year to 7.8 billion rubles. The Krasnodar Territory also delivered a solid performance, rounding out the top three regions with a 24 percent increase.
Analysts anticipate that the hotel market may continue expanding through the year, though growth could be uneven across regions. They expect the most pronounced gains in popular destinations such as Sochi, Karelia, Baikal, and the Altai region, while other areas may see more modest momentum. External pressures are acknowledged as well, including a potential drop in foreign tourist flows and ongoing adjustments as international operators recalibrate their involvement in the domestic market.
On April 7, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation released a draft federal law proposing a value-added tax exemption for both domestic and foreign tourism operators. This policy consideration aims to reduce the tax burden on tourism businesses and could influence pricing strategies, competitiveness, and investment decisions across the lodging sector in the near term. The proposed measure reflects renewed government attention to tourism as a driver of regional economic activity and job creation, alongside broader fiscal reforms targeting the service economy.