They will also develop domestic tourism. Wonderful! True, it has been developed for ten years now. And it goes without saying that this is a complete failure: new interesting directions, original travel concepts appear. If you want – take an active and extreme rest, if you want – ecologically, you are drawn to the exotic – go to some ethnic festivals. There is only one format that is not particularly developed in our country – the simple budget travel format.
Economy class beach holidays – yes, it is possible in the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory. Excursion programs in the interior of the country – unfortunately, St. Petersburg to Veliky Novgorod, from Yaroslavl to Kostroma, or from Chelyabinsk to Sysert are still available to a minority, unless they are weekend trips.
And what do we see in the end? It was only necessary to cancel the covid restrictions, and despite the sanctions, the public, the confusing political situation, the complex shipping logistics, immediately reached abroad. It stretched in the usual directions: Egypt, Turkey, Georgia.
Turkey has the highest inflation and expensive flights, but tourist flow has only halved compared to pre-pandemic. Russia still has not opened flights with Georgia, but people are patiently waiting for days in Upper Lars to cross the border. Why? Because there are still cheaper 3-star hotels in Turkey compared to our Black Sea coast. And about ten more times. And from Tbilisi to Kazbegi it is twice cheaper and easier to go from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana, but Krasnaya Polyana is about twice as close to Sochi as Kazbegi to the capital of Georgia.
It gets pretty ridiculous. In Adler, on the border with Abkhazia, trips to the same Abkhazia are twice as expensive as on the other side of the checkpoint – naturally, everything is decided on foot in five minutes. Why? Well, because they still buy: there are Russian crowds in Krasnaya Polyana and on Lake Ritsa. There is a demand, so people have money?
But everything is a little different. The crowds at the peaks of Rosa Khutor and the Gegsky waterfall are an illusion. Only these picturesque corners are quite small patches, exactly like the corners. And even if every fifth of vacationers in Sochi visit it during the summer, the mass effect is guaranteed. But most of those who visited the most advertised nature park in the Krasnodar Territory last year will not return there this year, they will go to a tea farm or to Ritsa. Three-fifths cannot go further than the beach at a time during the rest week. A mix of statistics and personal observations. Indeed, even with people’s behavior, gestures, fragments of speech, it is clear to many what a trip to the mountains or waterfalls is. And how devastating this event is for many residents – adults shut up when they ask kids to buy ice cream or lemonade, avoid cafes, roll their eyes when they see souvenir price tags.
What about other beautiful and interesting regions of our country? I can assure you that nowhere else has such a massive character. For example, some Terskol have peace and quiet. And there are wonderful waterfalls, gorgeous lakes, flower meadows and incredible mountains (Elbrus alone is worth something) – but the crowds don’t seem to be. Although the land of Adygea has shown an increasing popularity among travelers, it is not without pilgrim armies.
They say that there is a record increase in tourist flow in Dagestan, and that the number of tourists is expected to increase by 30% this year. Growth is impressive, but overall Dagestan accounts for less than 5% of travelers and even less for Adygea. Although these are really very interesting aspects. Here and nature, history and exotic. But how accessible is all this to the average Russian with a modest income? As long as there are options. But now they’re going to “develop infrastructure” there, and it’s becoming somewhat worrying for citizens’ wallets. While it makes sense, everything should of course be the other way around.
It’s kind of our trait – what makes tourism more accessible, oddly enough, makes it more expensive.
If you’ve ever driven almost off-road in some kind of car or something to go to an incredible wilderness (you found the same crazy people like you), you rented a room for five here with a hundred-year-old grandmother. a hundred rubles per nose, then as soon as the roads were built to that “God Forgotten Hole”, hotels were built there, they held a themed festival, they immediately started selling a sightseeing tour with an overnight stay, 15 thousand per person . No, of course I want to get the money back as soon as possible, but gentlemen, investing in tourism is a long game.
Yes, there are different programs, for example, the state refunds part of the cost of the tour, under certain conditions. But, as you can see, the cost of organized trips is often such that it is more profitable to do without any reimbursement, continuing to look for other passengers on wheels and grandmothers with extra meters on the ground. But now it has become even more difficult. People traveling on their own are used to certain booking services, many of them have accumulated different bonuses, now others are offered to them. OK, let’s get the others. If they are as comfortable as they are, we will get used to it, new bonuses will accumulate. But I have tested several platforms. There are fewer accommodation options, these options are more expensive – unfortunately. While in Kazan (where, apparently, the foam has subsided, most of the merchants have already recovered their money) they offer me one and a half thousand beds in a boarding house, in an eight-bed room. it’s hard for me to understand. Hostels are economy, for students, hard workers and the poor precariat. But we have such a false economy.
I understand everything – the market. And if a small number of active travelers are enough for entrepreneurs to make a profit, and they are not interested in attracting new ones, the prices will prevail. But forever?
You can report as much as you want at the beginning of the season that the hotels in Baikal and Kamchatka are 70% full, but those who know understand that this is so because there are only a few hotels. And some are leaving. The numbers are known. This year, for example, only 4.5% of tourists go to Altai, 1.4% – to Karelia, 0.9% – to the Yaroslavl region (and about the same number to other cities of the Golden Ring), 0.8% – planned a trip to Irkutsk. region (the most accessible trips to Baikal start there), and less than 0.2% – to Kamchatka. And this is almost a breakthrough! Kamchatka is strongly promoting: authorities promise up to 40% reimbursement to individuals and subsidies to charter organizers. And there are movements. More and more people began to travel to the farthest peninsula, but much more often for promotions and not in high season.
But after all, the market is also striving for improvement – this is the law. Once a niche is filled, you need to discover new ones. Whoever stops is doomed.
Today, the most promising direction is the excursion mass market. It is necessary to proceed from the fact that the need for rest and not only rest, but also a change of scenery, new impressions, is the same urgent need as health, safety, education. This is no exaggeration. The salary of a person working at full capacity should be sufficient to meet this need. At least modestly. What are our average salaries? You have to dance from them, develop new routes, take package tours.
If for residents of Krasnoyarsk there are similar tours to the Kuban, why can’t there be inexpensive tours to Lake Baikal for residents of Yaroslavl? If the sanctions force our country to develop civil aviation, and the market for energy resources for Russia is still declining, why is Kamchatka not becoming more accessible? After all, there will be less wealthy foreign tourists as well, you still have to bet on your own. Just don’t be greedy. I have to move.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.