Russia’s domestic tourism grows as hotel prices rise by 16-21%

Flights in Russia have risen in price significantly more than international flights

This year, the number of hotel bookings in Russia has increased by 16.1% compared to 2023. This was announced by the president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Ilya Umansky. The segment of four— and five-star hotels grew the most — by 17.2%. The increase in popularity is correlated with an increase in prices, the speaker noted. So, a day's stay in luxury hotels has risen in price by an average of 21.3%, reaching almost 11,600 rubles. The cost of staying in three-star hotels increased by 18.6% (6,800 rubles), while the price for one— or two-star hotels, or those without a rating, rose by 16.1% (5,800 rubles).

According to Umansky, the most popular destinations among Russians are Krasnodar Krai (it accounted for 20.5% of all bookings), Moscow (18.8%), St. Petersburg (13.4%), Moscow region and Tatarstan (3.5% each). In addition, the top 15 include Stavropol Krai, Crimea, Sverdlovsk, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Tyumen regions, as well as Primorsky Krai. The rest of the Russian regions accounts for less than 1% of travellers.

“Unfortunately, the distribution of hotel rooms in Russia is uneven," commented Umansky on the data. “The majority of tourist traffic is concentrated in Krasnodar Krai, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. This is primarily due to the volume of infrastructure in these regions and the lack of it in others.

The largest increase is shown by Crimea, Kalmykia (+48% in terms of tourist flow in both regions), Arkhangelsk region (+34%), Oryol region (+31%). In addition, the cities of the Golden Ring of Russia are experiencing a renaissance. The demand for accommodation in them has increased by 27%.

The increase in the cost of air transportation on domestic routes this year amounted to 22.5% with a 5% increase in sales. The average cost of an air ticket to and from the destination is 16,100 rubles, last year it was 13,100 rubles. It is interesting to compare these data with the increase in prices for international flights: a round-trip ticket for international flights this year cost Russians an average of 42,100 rubles against 40,900 in 2023.

“With an increase in the volume of tickets sold by 42%, we see a much more restrained dynamics of the cost — it amounted to only 3%," said Umansky.

Speaking about trends, he noted: due to the lack of infrastructure in the country, there is an increase in demand for early bookings and interest in all-inclusive tours. In addition, Russians are increasingly interested in “wine routes”, tours to observe natural phenomena and car trips (about 25 million trips were made by car this year).

Tourist flow from Russia to foreign countries may amount to about 29-30 million people

According to Dmitry Gorin, the vice-president of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, outbound tourism has also shown growth this year.

“It is difficult to return to the absolute figures of 2019 without lifting restrictions on international air travel. Despite this, the growth of outbound tourism is 20% at the moment. We forecast that by the end of this year, about 29-30 million of our citizens will visit foreign countries for various purposes," he said.

Most often, Russians went to countries with visa-free or simplified visa tourism. Turkey is expected to become the leader (according to forecasts, at least 6.7 million people will visit it in the 12 months of this year). “There are all possibilities to set a record of 2 million entries from Russia in Thailand and Egypt in the near future," Gorin added. China has shown excellent dynamics, thanks to improved air traffic. The Maldives is showing a steady growth: in October it amounted to 27%, and for the year it will be equal to 6%.

The share of international flights offered by Russian airlines has increased over the year. It is expected that by the end of the year it will amount to 27-28% against 20% a year earlier. “For a number of airlines, the growth in international flight traffic is very significant: for example, Aeroflot group officially announced an increase of 35%," the expert added. Meanwhile, the share of foreign airlines in the Russian market has increased from 25% to 40%.

The vice president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry stressed that due to current restrictions, airlines will have a problem with fleet retirement, especially in 2026-2027. In this regard, coastal transportation will become particularly important.

“We hope that the countries will expand their payment offers among themselves. This can be a payment via QR codes. Special maps that individual states will make for our travellers are also possible. In any case, there are no ready-made solutions yet," Gorin said.

“It has become popular to travel to Russia in the Gulf countries now”

This year, inbound tourism has finally started to revive, said Sergey Voytovich, an expert from the Russian Union of Tourism Industry for inbound tourism and chairman of the RST Committee for International Activities. The flow of foreigners doubled in 2024. If 429,000 foreign tourists entered Russia in 2023, then in the first nine months of this year — 887,000. By the end of the year, their number is going to reach 1-1.2 million people, the speaker forecasts.

The Chinese visit Russia the most actively — 83% of the total incoming flow. In addition, Iran and the countries of the Middle East have become major “suppliers” of tourists. “It has become popular to travel to Russia in the Gulf countries now," Wojtowicz said. The reasons are Moscow's balanced policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a suitable climate, and even higher prices in Europe. In the latter countries, according to the speaker, there is a huge deferred demand for trips to Russia.

“The flow of tourists from India has almost doubled. There are great prospects and a significant increase in the flow of tourists from Southeast Asia," the expert added.

At the same time, such a positive trend is also explained by the low base. “When first one person arrived, and then 10, then the growth increased 10 times. But the beginning is half the battle, and it has been laid," Wojtowicz assured.