The tourist flow in Russia during the winter holidays amounted to more than 12 million people. This was announced on January 23 by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
“According to the Ministry of Economic Development, during the winter holidays, the tourist flow amounted to more than 12 million people, which is 10-15% more than last year. Hotel occupancy was also high on average, from 70 to 95 percent,” he said.
According to Chernyshenko, in addition to the most popular tourist routes, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan, there was an increase in the tourist attractiveness of the resorts of the North Caucasus, Sochi, Sakhalin, Sheregesh, as well as a number of tourist places in the European and Ural parts of Russia, where more than 3 million people. It is noted that the Russians increasingly began to choose their own or foreign regions for recreation.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the demand for rail and air transportation also increased during the New Year holidays.
“During the New Year holidays, more than 3.4 million people traveled by rail, which is 20% more than last year. Thanks to the support of the aviation industry, it was possible not only to maintain, but also to increase the tourist flow by air transport by 11%. It amounted to 2.2 million passengers,” the politician said.
Chernyshenko noted that the Ministry of Economic Development intends to continue work on the national project “Tourism and Hospitality Industry”, which, by presidential decree, was instructed to include new regions. The Deputy Prime Minister added that the measures of the national project will be applied, including on the territory of the DPR, LPR, as well as Kharkiv and Zaporozhye regions.
The politician also said that the Ministry of Economic Development plans to use serious tools to support entrepreneurship in the tourism industry.
“For example, a special financial product has been prepared – with a loan term of up to 5 years, a maximum loan amount of up to 50 million and a 5% rate for the tourism industry. The new programs of the Ministry of Economic Development will also affect the international block for building contacts with friendly countries and increasing mutual tourist flow,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded, adding that the government’s comprehensive solutions to support the tourism industry ensure regular positive dynamics in the growth of the number of rooms, and the tourism economy itself is growing steadily.
The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions became part of the Russian Federation following the results of referendums held from 23 to 27 September 2022.
Earlier, on January 9, the Alliance of Travel Agencies told Izvestia that Sochi, St. Petersburg, Moscow and the cities of the Golden Ring became the most popular travel destinations for New Year and Christmas. It is noteworthy that until 2020, Russian skiers went on vacation to the Alps – Italy, France, Switzerland, Andorra, Slovakia. However, in modern realities, only Krasnaya Polyana can compete with these resorts.
