Online travel service OneTwoTrip conducted a survey among its clients to find out how often they travel around Russia and how they usually organize their trips.
The study showed that the majority of respondents (84.8%) are already actively traveling around Russia, but many of them still dream of seeing many new places. However, 6.3% of respondents prefer to travel abroad because they believe that it is cheaper than traveling within Russia. Some complain about the lack of tourist infrastructure in some regions (41.3%), and some are simply not interested in Russian attractions (30.4%), writes Izvestia.
Also, some respondents (3.7%) said that they do not travel at all, either due to financial restrictions or lack of time. In addition, there are those who prefer to spend their holidays in the country or outside the city (7.4%) or simply stay at home (3.7%). And there are even people (3.7%) who do not like to travel at all.
It turned out that the most attractive type of recreation in Russia is walking in natural parks and reserves (72.4% of respondents). Many are also interested in exploring historical sites (69.3%), gastrotourism (58.4%) and beach holidays (48.6%). Cultural and ethnic tourism (41%), active recreation (31.9%) and health resorts (27.8%) are less popular.
In Russia, tourists most often prefer to travel by plane (81.8%). Trains and cars are also popular: 54.3% and 53.6% of respondents choose these modes of transport, respectively. However, only 16.4% of Russians use buses to travel around the country.
Typically, the trip lasts from one to two weeks, as planned by 49.2% of respondents. 39.5% prefer short vacations of up to a week, and 9.3% prefer long vacations of two to four weeks. Not many (2.1%) have the opportunity to take a longer vacation.
The most popular type of accommodation for travelers was hotels (80.1%). Many also choose apartments (50.5%) and guest houses (40.8%). Some have had success staying with relatives or friends (19.6%), hostels (15.5%), campsites and tourist camps (13.5%), and glamping sites (8.2%). Women are 15% more likely to choose hotels than men and 17% more likely to glamping, while men are more budget-conscious, with 71% more likely to choose hostels and 45% more campsites.
The majority of respondents (39.5%) are willing to spend from 30 to 50 thousand rubles per person on a trip to Russia. A minority (34%) prefers a more budget-friendly vacation, focused on the amount from 10 to 30 thousand rubles, and 5.9% try to keep within 10 thousand or less. 16.1% of respondents are willing to spend large sums, who can afford to spend from 50 to 100 thousand rubles per person, and 4.6% are planning trips with an estimate of 100 thousand rubles per person.
The most expensive destination for the majority of Russians is Sochi (26.4%), as well as Moscow (20.7%), St. Petersburg (10.8%), Kamchatka (4.1%), Kazan (3.5%) , Kaliningrad (3.1%) and Irkutsk (1.5%). However, some travelers manage to make more budget trips to these same cities: the most affordable are St. Petersburg (6.4%), Kazan (6.1%), Moscow (3.1%), Nizhny Novgorod (2.9%) , Tula (2.6%), Yaroslavl (2.3%), Vladikavkaz (2.0%) and Pskov (1.8%).
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
