Foreign hotels left without Russians
Which countries are left without Russians
Last year, the tourist flow from Russia to Europe decreased by about 40%, Spain was hit the hardest, Croatia the least, while Montenegro, on the contrary, became even more popular, according to TUI Russia. The decline in interest in European destinations was influenced by the worsening of relations with the West and the fall of the ruble.
During the New Year holidays this year, demand did not drop significantly: because Russians traditionally organize their vacations in advance. Most tourists did not cancel tickets or hotel bookings, as they would have had to pay a commission anyway, and many decided not to give up their planned vacation. However, many hotels and booking services recorded a wave of cancellations for rooms and apartments if they had to be paid on site at the exchange rate at the time of the transaction.
“Due to the unfavorable exchange rate of the ruble, many clients were unable to pay for hotel accommodation, the cost of which could also have significantly increased by the time of check-in,” says Mikhail Sokolov, managing director of OneTwoTrip.
The least decline in demand was for hotels in European countries where popular ski resorts for Russians are located. There were also the fewest cancellations of advance bookings. According to Tez Tour, in countries such as Austria, Germany, Andorra and Italy, the decrease in demand for hotel rooms was about 20%. The most significant decline, about 40%, occurred in long-haul destinations – Mexico, Dominican Republic, Bali, Maldives. Demand for hotels in these countries also decreased due to the shift of some clients to budget destinations.
But not all tourists accustomed to vacationing on exotic islands are ready to suddenly reorient to Turkey and Egypt. That is why hotels in these countries remained unfilled. Moreover, those tourists who already preferred budget vacations are also forced to save, and many are completely giving up trips abroad.
So far, demand for hotels in popular resorts of Egypt and Turkey, according to tour operators, has decreased by an average of a few percent. However, some hotels recorded a decline in sales for the summer season 2015 through early booking by 15–20%.
“Sales have already fallen for the summer season 2015, and we expect them to fall even further compared to last year. Turkey is a popular holiday destination for Russian tourists, so a sharp drop in sales should not occur; moreover, the economic situation in Russia and Russia’s relations with European countries could become a positive factor for Turkey’s tourism market. But even so, the number of Russian tourists choosing Turkey for their vacation will decrease, and that is a fact,” says Ihsan Guzel, deputy general director of Club Marco Polo hotel.
Trend towards saving
Despite the fears of Turkish hoteliers, tourism industry experts believe that destinations such as Turkey and Egypt will suffer the least from the crisis in Russia. Russians have already started saving and in the upcoming summer season will most likely reorient to Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey and Egypt.
The choice of hotels will also change – Russians have started to prefer three-star hotels and apartments that can be rented with a group and split costs. According to Hotellook.ru, during the New Year holidays, the share of three-star hotels in the total number of bookings by Russians rose to 37% – four percentage points compared to last year. “Reducing vacation expenses is a natural reaction. However, so far Russian tourists prefer to search for cheaper accommodation options rather than give up traveling altogether,” says project manager Danil Ryashentsev.
Wanting to save money, some Russians will give up trips abroad altogether, at least to avoid dealing with currency exchange. Experts say that the trend of the first half of the year should be the development of domestic tourism. “In the last two months of last year, there was a surge of tourist interest in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma,” says Natalia Korneichuk, director of marketing for the AZIMUT Hotels chain.
Hotel strategy
Some Turkish hotels have stated that they intend to eliminate the sales decline by increasing their presence in the domestic and European markets. However, this strategy is not suitable for everyone: mostly, hoteliers will compete for customers through pricing.
“Now tourists will be more meticulous in choosing a hotel based on price/offer criteria. The hotel that pursues a more flexible pricing policy or offers an additional service for the same amount – for example, a free breakfast – will win,” believes Natalia Korneichuk.
Tour operators told Gazeta.Ru that Turkish and Egyptian hotels will offer discounts for Russians. “During the New Year holidays, we saw that Egyptian hoteliers began actively offering substantial discounts on accommodation for Russians – about 20%. Closer to summer, Turkish hoteliers may also make concessions to ensure occupancy,” believes Alexander Burtin, commercial director of Tez Tour.
Hotels in Bulgaria and Montenegro may also reduce prices. But hotels in other European destinations are unlikely to offer discounts to Russians, as they can easily fill their rooms with tourists from other countries.
"Neither in Europe, nor in Southeast Asia, nor at resorts of the New World can hoteliers afford to offer significant discounts specifically for Russians, it is unprofitable for them and it is much easier to fill the vacant niche with clients from other countries – it will be cheaper," Alexander Burtin is sure. According to the expert, even such European countries seemingly dependent on Russian tourists during the high season as Spain, Italy and Greece, are actually capable of reorienting themselves towards EU citizens in the shortest possible time and ensuring their occupancy.
Ekaterina SAKHAROVA.
«Gazeta.ru»