Russians increased their spending on domestic tourism 1.5-fold in the second half of the summer, according to the press service of VTB bank, Trend reports with reference to TASS.
According to the bank, during this period, the total expenses of Russians on hotels, transport rental, restaurants and entertainment in the most popular tourist destinations amounted to about 9.5 bln rubles ($125.19 mln) and reached the level of last year. One of the growth factors of the segment was the program with cashback for trips across Russia, launched by the government this year, the bank said.
In the first half of the season, Russians' spending on travelling within the country amounted to 6 bln rubles ($79.07 mln), which turned out to be 1.5-fold lower than the values of 2019.
In the second half of the summer, the largest increase in spending was observed in the entertainment category. In this segment, Russians spent almost 440 mln rubles ($5.8 mln), which is 2.2-fold more than in the first six weeks of the season. Since mid-July, tourists have spent more than 1.75 bln rubles ($23.06 mln) on hotel accommodation, which is 21% more than in the previous month and a half. At the same time, Russians' expenditures on transport and restaurants showed negative dynamics compared to the beginning of the season - by 33% and 11%, respectively.
The most dynamic growth in tourist activity was recorded in the Krasnodar Region: Russians' expenses on travel, restaurants and entertainment grew there by 46% this summer compared to last year, VTB noted. At the same time, Moscow’s popularity with tourists fell 3-fold this summer compared to last year. However, the capital is still in the lead in terms of tourism spending - 9.66 bln rubles ($127.3 mln). St. Petersburg is in the second place with 1.7 bln rubles ($22.4 mln), followed by the Krasnodar Region - 1.36 bln rubles ($17.92 mln).