Demand for domestic tourism in Russia fell by at least 10% in the first half of the year, according to industry representatives cited by Vedomosti. The decline is attributed to a combination of economic pressures, security concerns including Ukrainian drone strikes, and acute fuel shortages at gas stations across the country.
Varying Industry Data on Market Decline
While different industry players report varying levels of decline for the first six months of the year, the trend remains negative. The tour operator Alean recorded a minimum drop of 10% in tour bookings. Sletat.ru estimated the decrease in interest at 22.5%, and Travelata.ru marketing director Oleg Kozyrev reported a 31% year-on-year collapse in demand.
Sergey Romashkin, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), calculated that demand for domestic tourism shrank by 3% year-on-year to 40.1 million trips. This marks a significant shift from the same period last year, which saw a 7% increase to 41.4 million trips. Additionally, OneTwoTrip reported that the share of domestic hotel bookings fell by 1 percentage point to 68%.
Economic Shifts and “Saving Behavior”
Industry experts point to a change in consumer psychology as a primary driver of the slump. Sergey Romashkin of ATOR noted that a “saving model of behavior” has emerged, with Russians preferring to keep free funds in deposits rather than spending them on vacations.
To manage costs, tourists are altering their habits in several ways:
- Reduced Duration: Sletat.ru found that the average length of domestic trips in the first half of the year fell by 45% to three weeks.
- Budget Accommodations: Travelers are increasingly choosing promotional offers, budget lodging, and apartments or small hotels near resort infrastructure instead of large hotels.
- Localized Travel: Some tourists are abandoning long-distance trips in favor of vacations within their own or neighboring regions.
Oksana Bulakh, deputy general director of a national tour operator, noted that those unwilling to sacrifice comfort are instead shortening their stays by an average of 3–4 days. She reported a decrease in trip length of 0.7 days for beach holidays and 0.8 days for city tours, with the most significant drop—nearly three days—occurring in the sanatorium segment.
Security and Infrastructure Constraints
Physical and security barriers have also hindered travel. A Ministry of Economic Development source linked the downturn to “difficulties with fuel supply.” Sergey Romashkin confirmed that the number of travelers using private cars to visit Crimea decreased due to gasoline shortages on the peninsula, which had also been hit by Ukrainian strikes that left much of the area without electricity and water.
Rise of Spontaneous and Short-Term Travel
Despite the overall decline, there is a growing trend toward short, spontaneous trips. Marina Goncharenko, executive director of Bronevik.com, stated that 34% of bookings in June were made just one day before or on the day of arrival. Furthermore, 38% of June trips were for weekend stays.
This shift toward “weekend format” travel is reflected in certain regional data. For example, Kazan saw approximately 3 million guests in the first half of 2026, a 6% increase over the previous year, contributing roughly 50 billion rubles to the city’s economy. Similarly, Yandex Travel reported that bookings from the Rostov region increased by 25% in February 2026, as regional residents planned more short-term domestic trips.
Broader Economic Context
The tourism slump occurs amid a broader economic transition. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Vedomosti that the Russian economy experienced a 0.3% year-on-year contraction in GDP in early 2026. Novak described this as a “normal stage” of structural transformation following high growth rates of over 4% in 2023–2024. Despite the short-term recession, the government forecasts that GDP will grow by 0.4% by the end of 2026.
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