Most Russians—about 60%—will ring in the New Year at home, while a smaller slice plans a trip for the holiday. Roughly 15% intend to travel for New Year, and 8% expect to celebrate outside their city or even in the countryside. These figures come from a YuMoney and Sutochno.ru study, with results reviewed by socialbites.ca.
Another 7% say they will visit others, and 5% expect to celebrate New Year’s Eve at venues within the city. The remaining participants had not made firm plans yet.
When it comes to company, more than half of Russians—58%—plan to celebrate with family. Seventeen percent will celebrate alone, 15% with friends, and 5% will welcome 2024 with a pet. Four percent have not yet decided how they will mark the night.
Activities during the holiday show clear preferences: nearly half of respondents, 49%, anticipate eating, sleeping, and watching television as a routine, while 31% want to reconnect with friends or relatives. An additional 17% anticipate wandering through New Year fairs, ice skating, and rides; 13% expect a bathhouse or water park visit; and 12% plan to go to cinemas, theaters, or shopping centers. Just 8% would travel to a neighboring city.
Analysts from Sutochno.ru note a rise in demand for New Year rentals in the Moscow region, with prices up about 16% from last year. The average daily rate stands at 21,148 rubles. The most booked areas include Dmitrov, Naro-Fominsk, Otradnoe, Zelenograd, Istra, Kolomna, and Yakhroma. Peak booking dates are December 30 and 31, with typical stays around three days and an average spend of 60,696 rubles. In previous holidays, average expenses were about 47,770 rubles, down roughly 27% from the current period.
Commenting on the market, Yuri Kuznetsov, founder and CEO of Sutochno.ru, observed that the bulk of reservations tends to come in December. He added that demand is not extremely high yet, noting that more than 30% of apartments and houses in the Moscow region remain unbooked, suggesting good options still exist for buyers looking at the last minute.
Russians going on New Year trips have already started securing hotel rooms and purchasing transportation tickets. Irina Polyakova, head of the corporate customer support service at YuMoney, highlighted a trend toward domestic holidays and organized bus tours. She indicated that this trend will persist through the New Year holidays, with early October figures showing a 17% rise in turnover for sites selling bus tickets compared with the prior week, about 20% more purchases, and a 15% increase in buyers. The average ticket value held steady at around 6,930 rubles.
As the holidays approach, questions arise about how these celebrations might affect wages and paid leave for workers in Russia, with many weighing the impact of holiday-related pay on their financial planning.