Translated material
Rest of snow and ice
“Seasonal rental of apartments is in demand among family clients or those who go on vacation with a friendly group,” shares HomeHunter CEO Vladislav Sukharev-Pogozhev.
Difference of tastes
Foreign mountains are attracting Russian tourists more and more. “The preferences of Russians are varied: some like the ecology and clean water of Montenegro, others love America,” says Georgy Dzagurov, CEO of Penny Lane Realty. “Many St. Petersburg residents give preference to Finland due to its territorial proximity.” Recently, French resorts have been especially popular among bohemian Russian skiers. So, immediately after the New Year, from approximately January 2-3 to January 13-15, tens of thousands of wealthy fellow citizens travel to the resorts of the French and Swiss Alps. At the suggestion of Vladimir Potanin, the richest of them chose the French Courchevel and the Swiss St. Moritz. However, after last year’s scandal with the detention of Norilsk Nickel co-owner Mikhail Prokhorov, many Russian millionaires abandoned their annual tour to Courchevel. In this regard, we can expect an influx of tourists to the Austrian and Swiss Alps.
The most famous ski resort in Austria is the Tyrolean Mayrhofen, located next to the Tuxer mountain peak. In addition, experts consider Saalbach, Ischgl, and Kaprun to be popular Austrian resorts, which received their names from small Alpine villages. The Swiss Alps, in addition to the famous St. Moritz, offer more expensive resorts such as Zermatt, Crans Montana and Davos, well known to Russian economists. At the same time, those who change the popular French resort to the Swiss and Austrian Alps will seriously save on their winter holidays. “Prices in Courchevel are approximately 30% higher than prices in St. Moritz, and also two or more times higher than the cost of holidays in the resorts of mountainous Italy and Austria,” says Georgy Dzagurov.
Close to billionaires
For those who decided to go to ski resorts abroad this year and did not bother about hotel reservations, you can forget about a hotel room. It is already too late to book hotels in November, and in December it is generally impossible, especially for an inexperienced traveler. Apartments and chalets are rented for a period of a week or ten days. The cost of renting the most modest apartment in Courchevel at an altitude of 1850 meters starts from 350 euros per day: for this money the client will receive a microscopic room with an equally small bathroom. However, it is still cheaper than a hotel. For comparison: the minimum room at the Byblos Hotel costs 700-1000 euros per day; a standard room at the Lana Hotel costs about 800 euros, and a day at the Lezarel Hotel costs more than 1,000 euros per day.
A chalet for 8-10 people can be rented for 7-10 days for 50-150 thousand euros. Moreover, the cost increases as the season approaches. The cheapest time to holiday in the French Alps is closer to spring. According to Dzagurov, a smaller influx of Russians to these resorts is observed during the celebration of March 8 in Russia. Usually tourists come here for a week, but in 2008 International Women's Day falls on Saturday, and therefore the holiday date is moved to Monday. The French, who know about the peculiarities of the Russian calendar, try to sell tourists from Russia tours for two weeks at once. Thus, chalet owners and realtors are trying to make the most of the short, but the highest “Russian season” for Courchevel.
Search for Mecca
Prices at Austrian resorts are several times different from French ones. In particular, the cost of living in the Mayrhofen ski resort averages $30--40 per person per day. These can be two or three-room apartments with a living room and kitchenette. In the Swiss resort of Zermatt, apartments with a four-star level of service will cost from 3,000 euros per week. However, despite lower prices, the Austrian and Swiss Alps are still inferior to the French mountains in popularity among Russians. “Despite the emergence of new resorts, Russians are very collective,” says Georgy Dzagurov. “In order for the new resort to become a Mecca for our compatriots, it takes not only time, but also a strong, united team of Russians who have been living in such an oasis for a long time.” In addition, French service services are already accustomed to the fact that a dozen Russians can burst into a restaurant without a prior order, or when ordering for ten people, all thirty will come, and some companies are specially “tailored” to serving Russian tourists and move around following them - - in summer on the Cote d'Azur, in winter in Courchevel. They publish local glamor magazines in Russian and run hotels and nightclubs. Therefore, we can only wait for the crowd of Russian millionaires who left Courchevel to rush to some new place. What kind of resort it will be is still unknown. But we will probably find out about this soon. Moreover, other countries are adopting the French experience of communicating with Russian clients. “Today, many European real estate agencies, consulting and legal companies hire Russian-speaking specialists and largely focus their marketing strategy on the countries of the former USSR,” notes Gulnara Long, director of client relations at the London-based Property Vision company.
However, not all Russians can afford a vacation at fashionable resorts, so they are forced to choose other routes. According to Sergei Zamuruev, sales director of the Montenegrin division of Mirax Group, ski holidays in Montenegro have gained wide popularity among our compatriots.
This Mediterranean country has two ski resorts - Zablik, which is located in a national park and surrounded by beautiful lakes, and Kalashin, surrounded by the mountains of Sinyaevina, Belasitsa, Klyuch and Vuce. “At both resorts there is snow for about 100 days a year, and the resorts differ only in infrastructure, which in Zhablik is less developed than in Kalashin,” Zamuruev continues. The cost of two-room apartments in Montenegrin ski resorts starts from 35 euros per day. Moreover, the entire trip with a flight to Podgorica and transfer from the airport can cost a tourist 600 euros.
According to Sergei Zamuruev, those who want to save on the cost of accommodation can pay attention to neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the Jahorina resort, little known among Russians, is located 28 km from Sarajevo. This resort allows you to ski not 100 days, like Montenegrin slopes, but 175 days a year. However, getting there is more difficult: you will have to fly to Belgrade and then take a train 320 km to Jahorina. But Russians in this country do not need to apply for any visa. Of course, this is not a decisive factor for choosing a vacation spot. Here you need to focus only on your budget and personal preferences.