December is the month when it is customary to sum up the results of the outgoing year. Online ticket sales service UFS.Travel decided to analyze 2019 from a tourism point of view and conducted a study: where, when and how often Russians traveled this year, how their preferences and what 2019 was remembered for.
UFS.Travel experts found that the most popular domestic destinations for rail travel were Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Vladimir and Kazan. The leader in the number of tickets sold was the St. Petersburg-Moscow route, the average bill for which in 2019 was 4,086 rubles. The most popular trains among Muscovites were to St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Vladimir and Kazan.
In addition to Moscow, residents of St. Petersburg also frequently visited Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Tver and Nizhny Novgorod. The average bill for the St. Petersburg-Petrozavodsk route was 1,454 rubles, St. Petersburg-Tver - 2,861 rubles. The lowest average bill was for Pskov - only 698 rubles.
In 2019, the most popular European train destinations were Finland (Helsinki, Vantaa) and Latvia (Riga). They were most often visited by Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents. The average bill for tickets to Europe from Moscow was 7,692 rubles and 9,462 rubles, respectively, and from the northern capital it was one and a half to two times cheaper - 4,592 and 4,785 rubles.
As for domestic air traffic, in addition to the traditional leaders - Moscow and St. Petersburg, a large influx of tourists could be seen in Kazan, Blagoveshchensk, Mineralnye Vody, Ufa, Krasnodar.
Moscow was most often chosen for visiting by residents of Ufa, Kazan, Samara, St. Petersburg and Mineralnye Vody. The average bill for an air ticket on the Ufa-Moscow route was 7705 rubles, Kazan-Moscow - 8697 rubles, Samara-Moscow - 8259 rubles. The lowest average bill was from Mineralnye Vody to Moscow - only 7137 rubles. Residents of these cities also actively bought tickets to St. Petersburg on par with travelers from Krasnodar and Novosibirsk.
Among Russians who prefer to travel to Europe, the most popular cities were Tivat, Stuttgart, Milan, Prague, Larnaca and Paris. Most often, the airports of these cities received travelers from Moscow. Residents of Ufa showed particular interest in Austria, and Kazan residents - in the Czech Republic. As for Europeans who visited Russia in 2019, the first were citizens of Italy, the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Germany. The most interesting destinations for them were millionaire cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan.
UFS.Travel experts separately analyzed the preferences of travelers of different ages. It is worth noting that the average age of passengers has increased slightly this year. If in 2018, people aged 39 most often traveled by train, this year the figure has increased to 43 years. For example, in July 2019, the largest number of tickets were sold on one of the most popular routes Moscow-Vladimir. A significant portion of the tickets were purchased by Muscovites aged 30 to 48 years. There is also an increased demand for children's tickets - children aged 5 to 15 years old went on trips with their parents. Kazan can rightfully be considered the most youthful city. Tickets there were mainly bought by Muscovites aged 13 to 21, as well as people aged 30 to 38. Traditionally, June was the most popular month. One cannot fail to note the increased interest of young people in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. These cities were especially popular among people aged 18 to 24. However, planes are still the choice of residents aged 40.
Research conducted by UFS.Travel throughout the year also showed interesting results. For example, in the summer, experts found out that Russians, despite the unstable financial situation, still wanted to relax at foreign resorts. Although the most popular destinations were still domestic ones. For a beach holiday, Crimea was most often chosen, as well as resorts in the Krasnodar Territory - Anapa, Sochi and Tuapse. By the way, it was also possible to find out that during long train trips, for example to the sea, the favorite pastime of Russians was watching the constantly changing landscapes, listening to music, sleeping and reading e-books. In total, only 52% Russians went on vacation this summer, and 40% decided to spend the hot months working.
This year we also managed to analyze the attitude of Russians to travel during the holidays. For example, during the long May holidays, most of the people surveyed preferred budget travel around the country. Thus, the rating of the most popular cities for train travel included St. Petersburg, Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, and for air travel - Sochi and Ufa. During the November holidays, Russians also actively went to explore the two capitals, as well as Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Vladimir and Yaroslavl.
As for the New Year holidays, experts managed to find out that only 28% of the surveyed Russians are planning to go on trips. Most of them will not leave Russia, but will rather celebrate the New Year at home or visiting. Only 6% respondents are planning to visit Europe, and 5% want to relax in warm resorts. What is important, Russia was unconditionally recognized as the most beautiful country for winter travel. It was noted that our country has the snowiest and most magical winter. The study participants especially noted the beauty of the republics of Komi, Tuva, Adygea and the mountains of the Krasnodar Territory.
Source: trn-news.ru
