In the summer of 2023, a notable shift occurred in how Russians paid for their vacations. Data from a Post Bank study shows that people were twice as likely to use a credit card for summer travel compared with the previous year, and they were about 1.5 times more likely to rely on targeted loans for holiday expenses. This pattern highlights a growing preference for financing travel through card-based credit and installment loans, rather than paying upfront in cash.
According to the bank’s findings, more than six in ten rubles spent on credit cards during the summer season went toward services offered by travel agencies. The average ticket for such services hovered around 12,200 rubles, showing little change from the prior year. In contrast, the average amount borrowed through targeted loans rose by roughly 10 percent, reaching about 141 thousand rubles. The majority of these loans, about nine in ten, were arranged through offline channels, underscoring the continued importance of in-person interactions in travel financing during this period.
There was also a noticeable rise in spending on tourist-related services financed by credit cards when it came to sanatoriums and nursing homes, with the average expenditure doubling and reaching around 4,100 rubles. This increase suggests a growing willingness to finance wellness travel and stays through credit lines as consumers sought to spread the cost over time. Likewise, card purchases for train tickets increased by around 16 percent year over year, averaging 3,595 rubles per ticket, reflecting higher travel activity and the convenience of card payments for domestic transportation.
Analysts at Post Bank attributed these shifts to a combination of rising prices for travel services and fluctuations in exchange rates, which made outright purchases more expensive or riskier for some travelers. The result was a broader tendency to stabilize trip costs by using grace-period credit cards or targeted loans, allowing customers to lock in travel plans while managing monthly payments more predictably.
In this context, more consumers opted for financing that helps fix the cost of a vacation, even as overall prices remained volatile. The use of credit facilities during the peak travel season reflects a strategic move to manage budgets more effectively and to take advantage of payment terms that ease cash flow during summer months.
The Post Bank study conducted in August 2023 analyzed the transaction data of its customers to reveal these patterns. It provides a snapshot of how households adapted their travel financing in a period marked by price pressure and shifting exchange rates, illustrating a broader trend toward credit-based moderation of travel expenses rather than immediate large cash outlays. This aligns with a growing consumer preference for predictable, installment-style payments when planning leisure time away from home.