Reluctant homebodies

More than half of Russians plan to spend their holidays at home

Russians demonstrate their unwavering love for their small homeland in sociological surveys conducted at the beginning of the holiday season. This year, more than half (57%) of our compatriots intend to vacation directly at their place of residence. True, this love for their native walls is largely forced - 45% of Russians simply cannot or do not intend to spend money on a vacation. And this picture as a whole remains unchanged for many years - regular surveys conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion show that the number of homebodies, summer residents and travelers changes slightly.

The results of the latest survey, covering 1,600 people in 53 settlements in 43 regions of the country, were published at the end of last week. And they demonstrated that even country holidays are losing their attractiveness. This year, 18% of respondents stated their intention to spend their vacation at the dacha, while last year there were 22%. It is possible that vacationers refusing to give up their dachas decided to simply stay at home, because this year the number of those planning to vacation at home increased by a comparable amount (by 5%). Fluctuations among lovers of holidays on the Russian Black Sea coast, in Crimea and travel around the country over the past four years were insignificant and fell within the framework of statistical error.

This year, in particular, 8% of Russians are going to Sochi, Anapa, Novorossiysk (the same number of respondents just want to go to another “non-resort” city), 2% to Crimea, 1% to the Baltics. Judging by sociologists' data, only 3% of our compatriots can afford to travel abroad. At the same time, public opinion researchers note a huge gap between the desires and capabilities of Russian residents. If time and, mainly, funds had permitted, only every tenth person would have remained at the dacha, and every fourth person would have remained at home. But more than three times more Russians (29%) would go to the sea, five times more (10%) would go to Crimea, and 27% of fellow citizens would go to foreign countries. Even the number of pilgrims to the Baltics would triple, towards which “thanks to” the hysterical information background the attitude in Russia cannot be called warm.

However, apparently, it is money (or rather, the lack of it in the required amount) that still remains the main limiting factor. In one of the May surveys conducted by the same VTsIOM, 52% of respondents admitted that they were forced to freeze vacation plans solely for financial reasons. And in general, apparently, it is vacation items in the family budget that Russians are willing to sacrifice first of all.

At the same time, as the latest survey shows, these costs are still growing from year to year. Thus, the number of tight-fisted Russians planning to spend an amount that would not exceed 5 thousand rubles on a summer vacation has decreased to 12%. per family member (in 2005 this was 15%, and in the past - 19%). But the number of those who are willing to spend from 10 to 25 thousand rubles on vacation is gradually increasing. per person (in 2005, 7% of respondents shared such plans, last year - 10%, and this year - already 11%).

Fedor SEREBRYANSKY