Tourists have forgotten the horrors of SARS and the war in Iraq. This winter, travel from Russia to the Middle Eastern and Asia will increase by 20-25%

This winter tourist season hasn’t prepared any surprises for tour operators: the Russian tourism market has stabilized. About 2 million Russians will spend their vacations abroad just like they have for the past several years. The demand for winter travel within Russia won’t change significantly, either. According to available estimates, it will increase by 5% at most.

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Tourists’ winter travel preferences stick to the banal formula of “beach and skis.” The “fear factors” of SARS and the war in Iraq that were on travelers’ minds as recently as last spring have disappeared, which has played into the hands of resorts in the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. An increase in demand for these destinations was noticeable long before the start of the winter season.
“It’s the country with the best tourist service for Europeans,” exclaimed my colleague, who returned the other day from the United Arab Emirates and shared her impressions with me. Most tourists who chose the UAE for their winter vacation this year seem to agree. In 2003, 30-40% more Russians will head for the UAE than in 2002. Tour operators have also noted that a vacation in the United Arab Emirates is in unprecedented demand this winter season. Russian tourists began to book tours to spend New Years at the most expensive hotels as early as August, and by the beginning of December all rooms allocated to Russians in fashionable hotels were sold out.
The overwhelming demand for the Emirates was both predictable and expected. After staying away this spring and summer, tourists from all over the world literally pounced on the UAE. The catastrophic shortage of super-expensive hotels along the coastline this year has resulted in prices that are far from cheap.
The Russian tourists headed for the United Arab Emirates are not following some global trend; the Russian image of the Emirates has changed recently. Early in the nineties, during the shuttle-trading boom, Russians had the impression that the Emirates were a place for shopping, not upscale travel. This year, Emirates Airlines – the first-ranked air carrier in the world in terms of service quality on its direct flights from Moscow to Dubai – has changed the situation. “Quality air travel was combined with quality accommodations, and the product was complete. Now Dubai has become a VIP-direction,” believes Sergey Kanayev, Director of the Moscow Representative Office of Dubai’s Tourism and Commercial Marketing Department. “Besides, Russian tourists traditionally consider UAE as a winter destination for sports and active recreation. Out of 222,000 Russian tourists, who visited Dubai in 2002, 85% came in the winter.”
Despite high prices – a week in the Emirates costs at least $ 1,000 – Muscovites are not the only Russians heading for the UAE. Chartered flights from regional airports have been full this year. Another reason why tours to the Emirates are popular is that for the same quality of hotel, a trip to the US, Europe, or Asia turns out to be more expensive in terms of overall costs than the UAE, since there are no taxes at all there.
However, Russians’ love for the Emirates is far from mutual. Hotel owners in the UAE prefer to cooperate with European tour agencies, who “supply” tourists throughout the year. They set lower prices and allocate more hotel rooms to them, whereas Russians have to overpay because of their seasonal behavior. But it’s not just seasonal patterns that cause the hotel owners to be wary of Russian. As a representative of one Russian tour agency in the UAE told Expert, Russians are less liked than other foreigners. Russians are very fastidious, make high demands for services and have a poor command of English to boot. The locals have to use sign language to explain anything.
One more tour destination–Thailand–is back on the Russian market this season. The horrors of SARS, which prevented tourists from reveling in Thai service last spring and summer, have been forgotten. This winter travel will increase by 20-25% compared to last winter. Exotic countries, and Thailand is one of them, are especially popular among Russian tourists for New Year’s Eve. “Russians want a fairy-tale on New Year’s, and are therefore are willing to pay for exotic destinations. The prices for this time of year are 30-50% higher than usual, as a rule,” says Tatyana Chuvilkina, Deputy General Director of Natali Tours.
The Russian tourists’ motto with regard to Egypt – Fast, Reasonable Prices and Convenient Travel – remains popular this winter as well. However, tour companies are not expecting any particular boom for the New Year holidays, as Egypt is in demand year-round. The demand for travel to Egypt is growing steadily each year due to recently built upscale hotels with high-quality service. According to travel agents, in terms of service, Egypt has yet to reach the level of Turkey but it is rapidly gain ground with each year.”

Europeans often prefer an active winter vacation to the “vegetative life” of beach resorts. Over the last 2-3 years, the demand for excursion programs and ski resorts has grown constantly. This year, though, urban tourists failed to meet tour agencies’ expectations because of the rise in the euro exchange rate. “Travel to European towns has increased by 1.5 times this year. Since this May, the European currency has become 20% more expensive versus the dollar. If the rise had been only 5-7%, twice as many people would have chosen Europe as their destination,” says Karen Goncharov, General Director of DSBW Tours Continent.
France still remains the leading excursion destination. Few Russians want to go to Finland, and the demand for this destination is consistently low. The decline in travel to Finland began last year. Travel agents believe this decline is due to Russian tourists’ reaction to last year’s very cold winter and the low-quality tours many companies are offering. Tourists don’t want to go back to Finland.
The euro exchange rate hasn’t stopped those addicted to the slopes, however. New Year holiday travel to ski countries has already risen by 10% versus last year. Of course, ski resorts have seen a smaller increase in demand than urban destinations, which is the result of the limited hotel base at resorts and the short supply of expensive hotels that meet Russians’ high standards. As a result, there is a deficit of places in tour groups headed to the resorts of Austria, Switzerland, France, and Andorra. Russians account for as little as 1% of all guests who come to Europe to ski. Hotels don’t allocate a sufficient number of rooms to ensure accommodations for all those coming from Russia to relax. This is because hotel owners face a high risk when dealing with Russian tour companies. Russians travel agents have gotten into the habit of booking hotels just a few weeks in advance, whereas worldwide it is done 3-4 months beforehand. “If it weren’t for the short supply of hotels and plane tickets, the number of Russians headed for ski resorts would be 2.5 times higher this winter season,” says Evgeny Sudbin, Deputy General Director of Acent Travel.
However, some Western resorts have already seen the potential of the Russian tourist market. The secret is that a Russian tourist spends 2-3 times more than the average European tourist. “We are not like the Germans, who come in their own cars and with their own skis, who live in apartments, buy food in supermarkets, and cook it themselves,” says Olga Chupova, who is in charge of Austrian destinations at UTE Megapolis Group. “Austrian service providers have come up with “Russian weeks” for example to attract our travelers.” The program features celebration of the New Year and Christmas following Russian traditions and customs, lunches in Russian restaurants and other Russian-style entertainment.
It’s no wonder that Austria has been the first to conduct such actions aimed at attracting Russian tourists. Compare to other “ski” countries, Austria is in the highest demand among Russians, and hence Austrian companies have had time to appreciate the generosity of Russians on vacation. The secret to the success of Austrian resorts lies in a combination of good infrastructure, convenient ski slopes, and appropriate accommodation. This means that you can do more than just ski; you can also ice-skate, go sledding, ride horses, drink mulled wine, go for a swim, or see the local sights.

Many acquaintances of mine who decided to spend New Years at bed-and-breakfasts near Moscow were surprised to discover that for the same amount of money they could have spent a week in Paris and stayed at a 5-star hotel room overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Nonetheless, tours to the most expensive pensions near Moscow are in high demand. The exorbitant prices are the result of deficit in high-quality hotels. Bed-and-breakfasts and recreation camps are still the main holiday destinations for Russian tourists travelling domestically. Remodeling Russian tourist complexes is proceeding slowly. Though some have been transformed into first-class country clubs and recreational centers this past summer, it is too early yet to speak of a mass renovation of tourist accommodations in the Moscow area.
“As soon as the state organizations and enterprises stopped giving Russians free trips to Russian resorts and hotels, more discriminating customers appeared. They demand that the doors in their rooms not squeak and that everything be clean and comfortable. They are ready to pay for this. Thanks to this revenue, we have been able to renovate,” says Irina Savelieva, General Director of RVB-Alean.
The days of cheap Soviet-style camps are over. Travelers don’t want to return to spartan Soviet vacations. The usual camp facilities, such as a swimming pool, gym, cinema, sports equipment rental, and three meals a day included, are not enough for today’s Russian tourist. Now Russians want mulled wine and fondue after a hard day on the slopes.

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