Marina Yardaeva Relocation instead of Tourism About what forms of travel remain for the poor Russian person 28.03.2023, 08:18

Spring is the time to think about where to go in the summer. Someone will say now is not the best time to travel. But this time it has been going on for four years. First covid, then foreign policy – since 2020 the tourism industry has been in a fever. And rest and a change of scenery are essential for many. At least not to go crazy. For example, passion for me is how new impressions are needed. I cannot work otherwise. And I have small but still plans for this summer.

No, at first the plans were very Napoleonic. I wanted to go for a month and a half or two, cross three or four borders, see interesting things from different countries. I’ve already started planning my itinerary. From Stavropol, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and then from Tbilisi to Armenia or from Batumi to Turkey, something like this popped up in my head. Or via Serbia to Montenegro and perhaps the Czech Republic.

An acquaintance recently traveled this route to Prague on business, the plan to go to Europe via Serbia worked very well, and St. He invited a friend to visit, he still owns real estate in the Czech Republic. I looked at how much a flight to Belgrade costs and realized that on such fares I can only fly in my sleep. And the chain of movements drawn in my head in the Caucasus was cut almost at the very beginning – it turned out that the land border with Azerbaijan is still closed due to covid restrictions and it is expensive to fly even from Makhachkala.

Flying is expensive everywhere.

Ads for two airlines arrived in the mail at the same time. In one there is a large sale of flights throughout Russia, in the second there are some promotions to support domestic tourism. I was stuck on their site for two hours. But not because I’m teary-eyed, but because I really want to find these super discounts promised. I searched, searched … I did not understand anything. Guys, I remember when you could fly to Barcelona for two thousand rubles, and now they are trying to convince me that 12 thousand to Kislovodsk without luggage and the possibility of cancellation is just a bonus and you need to take it urgently, because the discount is valid only for two days. It’s okay if you don’t want to go to Kislovodsk at 12 in the summer, you can go to Sochi at seven. in January 2024.

Against this background, St. Tickets for ten thousand people from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk look really attractive. Flights to Chita are also offered for 12 thousand from Moscow. in Barnaul. It seems that Baykal and Altay want to finally make it more accessible. But maybe it still looks that way. Because there is no tendency to lower prices for accommodation in those parts. Surprisingly, even living in a panel house in Olkhon can wipe out all the savings on airline tickets. A campsite there costs the same as rooms in guest houses in Gelendzhik.

However, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information obtained from the reservation services. Services are another matter. On the one hand, the holy place of Booking and Airbnb did not remain empty. Russians have dozens of sites to find accommodation while traveling. It just didn’t seem comfortable for the year, anything. Some do not want to show the distance to the sea when advertising hotels, some do not subdivide accommodation facilities (such as hotels, apartments, hostels, recreation centers), some do not filter by cost (seriously?). And most importantly, many services do not even guarantee that they provide up-to-date information – you need to contact the hotels or apartment owners directly and clarify everything.

However, there is no doubt that after the pandemic and the start of the NWO, prices in tourism increased 1.5-2 times for everything including travel, accommodation, excursions. Reduction of certain expenditure items in certain areas is not counted. And unfortunately, there was no growth due to the improvement of service or infrastructure. And certainly not because the salaries of Russians have increased (actual incomes continue to fall). The market crashed.

No one is waiting for the Russians in Europe, Turkish prices have risen, inflation and the earthquake have consequences. Egypt opened not so long ago, but tours there are no longer cheap either. People are afraid to go to Crimea. Baykal and Altay are still inaccessible despite the airfare discount. The north of Russia is beautiful but cold and wild. It is better to revolve around the Golden Ring in autumn and winter, and in reality this is not a holiday, but a task – to show the history to schoolchildren. In what sense? For the whole vast country – the Black Sea coast and small islands like Adygea, Elbrus and the same Dagestan. And if so, then those who pursue the desire to relocate will pay double the price (especially since even open foreign countries have tripled due to the weakening ruble).

These are the islands I left on our family itinerary for the summer. I have no dreams. I know that the infrastructure there is so good that, for example, the Caspian is not a resort at all, the trips organized in the Caucasus are not particularly original. But I still wonder, and the surrounding St. I really want to change the sights of St. Petersburg and the atmosphere in general. To the sun, to the mountains, to the waterfalls, to another culture, to other people.

At the same time, the only thing I can afford to change seems to be the picture. I’m not going to take some kind of vacation. And I think the comfort level during the journey will also decrease. My hometown seems more comfortable to me than apartments that I can rent and not go bankrupt. In part, paradoxically, I will try to reduce the cost of the trip by extending its duration. It works like this: if you go to the seaside for a week, the cost of the trip is, say, a quarter of all costs, and for a month, say, one eighth. You buy two trips in a week for some crazy money because they take 16 hours and you are taken to all possible attractions including honey, souvenir and wine shops (then you can predictably not remember anything) and leave home for a month. -one and a half, you slowly wander around the neighborhood on your own, using only the occasional transfers.

Of course there are nuances. Longer trips don’t mean complete idleness, you need to solve some work problems at least in easy mode and do various household chores just like at home. And to be honest, this may not be a complete trip. It’s more like a small displacement.

So be it. Better than nothing. Petersburg, I took the children to the Pulkovo observatory, and in Stavropol we will go to look at the stars in Kislovodsk. At the weekend we went to Vyborg at home and walked around Olaf’s castle, we will go from Makhachkala to Derbent to look at the Naryn-kala fortress in Dagestan.

Of course, it’s still a cost. My feeling is that the monthly budget of the family is tripled even in the format of moving due to road and rent. However, a poor family can live for three months, with a buffet of this money, in some average hostels in Sochi, two weeks in Turkey will be enough for ten days. And it will be a pretty boring beach vacation. And I think it’s for the very tired. In times of crisis, I personally choose self-catering guesthouses and trips by bus and taxi to attractions. So people who had at least some money left traveled in the nineties. My gut tells me that most families can’t afford another form of travel anytime soon. It may turn out that tomorrow there will be a choice between a summer house and a tent trip to the river outside the city.

But don’t stay at home. Moreover, it is unlikely that people living in their homes en masse will encourage the tourism sector to develop. According to a survey conducted by the check-in service, almost 63% of Russians say they are unable to travel because of lack of money. In 2022, for the same reason, 41% of citizens could not rest where they planned, and a third did not go anywhere. An even greater decline in Russian activity is expected this year. And what? Bulk refunds have been cancelled, many promised programs to improve tourism infrastructure have been discontinued, but new resort fees are being introduced. Under these circumstances, you can wait too long for better times. Maybe it’s better to hop into the notorious last car? Drop in and reserve a seat. All adventure.

The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.