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Low Visitation Due to High Prices
// Tourism
The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) yesterday made public the results of its investigation of the causes of the decline of foreign tourism in Russia. Most of the tour operators questioned thought that the crisis on the tourist market has exclusively economic causes. The threat of terrorism and the political situation do not have a serious effect on the tourist market. Nonetheless, RUTI thinks that the decline in tourism will continue in the coming years.
RUTI surveyed 115 tour operators who work with foreign tourists in 27 Russian regions, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. The results of the survey confirmed earlier opinions about the declining flow of tourists into Russia.
According to the border service of the FSB, in the first six months of this year, 869,100 foreigners entered Russia for tourist purposes. That is almost 11 percent less than the in first half of 2004, when 972,300 foreigner tourists visited. This is the second year in a row that a significant decrease in tourism has been observed. Rosstat, the state statistics service, statistics show that 2,861,000 tourists came to Russia in 2004, almost 10 percent fewer than in 2003 (3,152,000).
The top five obstacles to the development of tourism in Russia are exclusively economic (see chart). Tour operators consider the main problem for the market to be the growing prices for basic services in the foreign visitor's tour package. The growth of prices for tourist services in Russia is connected with the lack of modern tour-class accommodations throughout the country. More than half of those surveyed (56.5 percent) characterize the pricing situation as critical. Chairman of the RUTI committee for incoming tourism Leonid Isakovich says that, in the last four years, the classic week-long tour of Russia from Western Europe, including visits to Moscow and St. Petersburg has become twice or 150 percent more expensive, now coming to ˆ1200-1400.
In second place are the limit possibilities for advertising Russia abroad. RUTI president Sergey Shilko says that about ˆ3 million were spent for those purposes this year. “There is nothing for us to do on the international tourism market with numbers like that,” he said. “That is a smaller advertising budget than Romania has.” The problem of the lack of modern tourist-class hotels in the regions and in Moscow and St. Petersburg is in third and fourth places.
Terrorist acts in recent years, in the opinion of tour operators, have had an insignificant influence on the market. They ranks worries about terrorism in seventh place, and crime in the country in tenth place as a factor negatively influencing tourism. The political image of Russia internationally was ranked 15th. A much more serious problem was “inadequate behavior and abuse of foreign tourists by Russian police, customs inspectors and border officers” ranked 12th.
Tour operators are sure that the crisis on the market will not be overcome next year. “The decline in incoming tourism will continue in the coming years,” Shilko said. “Even if the flow of tourists remains stable or rises by 5 percent, the situation will not change, it will remain critical.” “The decline will continue for at least two more years,” Vladimir Rudakov, director of the Sputnik-Stolitsa company said. “Prices will continue to rise until Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major tourist centers eliminate the shortage of tourist-class hotel rooms and modern tourist buses.”
Why Tourists Don't Come to Russia
| Rank |
Rank of the cause |
“Situation critical”* |
“There's a problem, but it's to critical”* |
“It's not a problem”* |
| 1 |
Rising prices for basic services in the foreign visitor's tour package |
56.5 |
32.2 |
4.3 |
| 2 |
Lack of advertising abroad for Russian tourism attractions |
52.2 |
40 |
4.3 |
| 3 |
Lack of modern tourist-class hotels in the regions |
47 |
37 4 |
9.6 |
| 4 |
Lack of modern tourist-class hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg |
46.1 |
22.6 |
10.4 |
| 5 |
Lack of modern buses for tour groups |
44.3 |
40.9 |
13 |
| 6 |
Lack of information about Russia necessary for foreign tourists in foreign languages (maps, brochures, street signs, etc.) |
42.6 |
50.4 |
7 |
| 7 |
Tourists' fears of becoming victims of terrorist acts |
32.2 |
40.9 |
24.3 |
| 8 |
Underdevelopment of the entertainment industry |
32.2 |
40.9 |
24.3 |
| 9 |
Lack of modern cruise ships |
29.6 |
59.1 |
8.7 |
| 10 |
Crime in the country |
28.7 |
59.1 |
8.7 |
*Percentage of the total number of those surveyed
Source: Russian Union of Travel Industry |
Timur Bordyug
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 07, 2005
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