You'll have to rest at home

Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia

The tourism business will not die. Yes, in 2015, the number of trips by Russians to Europe decreased by 40%, to Turkey by 25% and to Egypt by 20%, even before the ban on flying there. There is reason to believe that the popularity of domestic tourism will increase in 2016, but only on the condition that travel agents and hotels do not raise prices and the state provides the promised assistance. Now there are no such prerequisites, but for a tourist the main thing is the price, and as soon as it becomes clear that domestic tourism is not growing due to prices, they will quickly return to normal. For

price reductions also require a flow so as not to make money on one client for a year in advance - this flow, I think, can be created with the help of government support even in those areas that have been abandoned. And now all directions in domestic tourism are screwed up, except for these: the Golden Ring, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, river cruises, Sochi and Crimea. There is no mass participation either in Kamchatka, or in Komi, or even in Altai. Look for yourself: 9-12 million people travel to the Krasnodar Territory every year, and 1.5 million to Altai. There will be demand for foreign tours

fall: there are no prerequisites for the growth of the ruble, and prices from 80-90 thousand are unaffordable for the average resident of Russia. Let's look at the winter - most likely, it is then that domestic tourism will begin to grow, but now it is impossible to predict further than two months: new force majeure is possible. But people won't stop traveling. And not only will they not stop traveling, but on the contrary - the more complicated and tense the situation in the country, the more people will look for an opportunity to go somewhere and somehow switch.