Autumn route: air travel demand from Tatarstan declines, while inbound flow to the republic rises

Tatarstan residents are flying less

Residents of Tatarstan are showing reduced mobility during this year’s November holidays. The number of flight bookings from Kazan between 1 and 9 November 2025 has dropped by one third compared with the same period last year. This was reported to Realnoe Vremya by Elena Shelekhova, head of the press service of the OneTwoTrip travel platform.

This trend was confirmed by the president of the Association of Tour Operators, Ramil Miftakhov:

An analysis of travel preferences among outbound tourists from Tatarstan allows two clear holiday planning strategies to be identified, depending on trip duration, Miftakhov added.

“Within Russia, residents of Tatarstan prefer two types of trips. For long holidays, they choose the Krasnodar Territory and the Caucasian Mineral Waters — 7–9 days allow people to go to the seaside or to health resorts. For shorter trips of 4–5 days, the most popular destinations are Moscow and St Petersburg," he explained.

Elena Shelekhova cited similar statistics. According to her, the top destinations for Tatarstan residents are Moscow (35.3%), St Petersburg (20.0%), Sochi (12.7%), Nizhny Novgorod (3.4%) and Yekaterinburg (3.3%).

Russians prefer cultural holidays over resort vacations

The domestic market is also seeing a certain redistribution of travel flows. According to the head of OneTwoTrip’s press service, demand is shifting towards cultural capitals: the share of St Petersburg has increased by 1.2 percentage points, and Kaliningrad by 1.5 percentage points. At the same time, bookings in Sochi have decreased by 2.2 percentage points over the year.

“As for the destinations chosen by Russians for domestic flights during the holidays, the leaders are Moscow (34.5% of bookings), St Petersburg (12.2%), Sochi (7.3%), Kaliningrad (3.8%) and Mineralnye Vody (2.9%)," she said. Demand is shifting in favour of cultural capitals.

“The autumn holidays are quite a popular time for travel, so there is still some demand for foreign destinations, albeit modest. The most popular ones are the Emirates and Egypt. Some tourists are flying to Turkey. Much smaller volumes go to Southeast Asia — Vietnam and Thailand," said Ramil Miftakhov.

Tatarstan ranks fifth in hotel bookings

In the overall structure, Kazan retains its appeal among Russian tourists — it ranks fifth in terms of hotel bookings, accounting for 3.2% of the total. The leaders are Moscow (16.0%), St Petersburg (13.6%), Adler (4.5%) and Nizhny Novgorod (3.5%).

At the same time, in terms of flight bookings, the capital of Tatarstan ranks only eighth, with a share of 2.3%, Shelekhova said. This can be explained by the development of car tourism.

“It is safe to say that the November holidays are popular among visitors from nearby regions. The development of transport infrastructure, particularly the M-12 motorway, contributes to the inflow of tourists from Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and other cities. Each year, more people come in their own cars, as this is often cheaper than air or rail tickets and offers greater mobility," noted Miftakhov.

He identified three key factors behind Tatarstan’s appeal for autumn travel:

• Safety: “Guests feel comfortable and safe on the streets, which is an important criterion when choosing a holiday destination.”
• Cuisine: “From traditional Tatar cuisine to exotic restaurants — gastronomy remains one of the key factors attracting tourists.”
• Tourist attractions: “Kazan, Bolgar and other landmarks continue to draw visitors. A significant share consists of repeat tourists who come simply to stroll around the capital of the republic.”

At the same time, the State Committee for Tourism of Tatarstan told Realnoe Vremya that a decline in tourist flow to the republic is expected this autumn. During the November holidays of 2024, hotel occupancy in Kazan reached 100% — this year, demand is forecast to be less active.