The state program on subsidizing tours in Russia has its flaws and oddities, say market participants. However, overall their conclusion is unequivocal – it is unique and useful for the tourism industry and Russians state support in such difficult conditions facing the global tourism industry as a whole. As much as 1.5 trillion rubles underpaid torural Russia in the first half of this year. These are preliminary estimates of the Federal tourism Agency.
“In my memory this is the first case when subsidies for non-professional participants of the market, i.e. the tourists themselves. This is a very important case, which may not yet perfect, but it is very interesting to try. It is possible that the dog is buried here. Still the money was distributed to tour operators (not) and airlines (a lot). Tourism is little reacted. Perhaps if you give the money to our tourists, it will infect them and they will go to rest in Russia,” says Sergei Romashkin, CEO of tour operator “Dolphin”, which is engaged in domestic tourism.
“It is unprecedented for Russia, the experience and its effectiveness remains to be assessed. In our view, the Russian tourism need investment support for infrastructure development”, – said General Director of the Internet service for travelers Biletix Igor Konstantinov.
“The proposed program is unlikely to succeed to subsidize 2 million trips for our travelers, but the fact that this working scheme, which will allow to stimulate demand for domestic tourism, it definitely. No wonder these incentives had previously used many governments, including European ones,” – says Artem Deev head of analytical Department AMarkets.
One example is the very successful experience of France, where the system of vacation cheques. Power give tourists an average of 400 euros per family for a vacation of not less than 13 days in France or in the neighbouring countries of the EU. It is a social program that not only helps the development of domestic tourism, but also focus on the fulfillment of the rights of every Frenchman on vacation. With the recent time to receive such payments even checks have become self-employed, but the main beneficiaries of vacation checks – it’s still the industrial workers and civil servants. For small businesses the cost of the holiday receipts is exempt from tax on income and social benefits. Interestingly, the travel company in the truest sense�� to fight for a “social tourist”.
In Russia under the state program, the tourists will receive cashback in the amount of 5-15 thousand rubles. The tour cost 25-50 thousand rubles, paid with the card “the World”, the map will return the cashback in the amount of 5 thousand rubles, for the tour cost 50 to 75 thousand rubles cashback will be 10 thousand rubles, and for the tour price above 75 thousand rubles to 15 thousand rubles.
the conditions for receiving the money – the trip is not less than five days. The tour should include the hotel accommodation and transportation to be purchased on the website of the tour operator (not travel agent). Payment must be through the Russian payment system “the World”.
The program involves 51 region – quite a large list. In summer, the list does not include the most popular destinations of mass tourism, such as Krasnodar Krai, the Crimea, Moscow or St. Petersburg, and the Altay and Kaliningrad oblast. However, to go with the discount still will be possible – but only in the autumn-winter period. Crimea, for example, will be available at a discount from October to December. And both capitals included in the list with a caveat: if it is a combined tour, where the capital will have two nights plus three nights tourist spend in a different region from the list.
If you look at the prices, we are talking about almost a discount of 15-20% of the tour price. It is a worthy proposal that could attract Russian tourists. “In our experience of providing discounts to tourists I can say that
discount less than 5% of the cost of the tour does not interest the client. Discounted at 10% to buy a tour agrees quite a lot, and at a discount of 15% – almost all.
Therefore, the proposed discount is a good that can convince tourists to go to rest in Russia”, – says Sergey Romashkin.
According the Internet service for travelers Biletix, the proportion of travellers willing to spend more than 50 thousand rubles per family member decreased after wave of the epidemic from 45% to 27%. Accordingly, the share willing to spend no more than 50 thousand rubles for the traveler, by contrast, increased from 55% to 73%. These data derive from a comparison of the results of travel surveys conducted in January and June 2020 with the participation of more than 1 500 people in each survey. Russians ready to save on accommodation, comfortable flights or travel, and even cultural and entertainment program. Their number has grown. While not intending to economize in the journey of Russians decreased from 16% to 7%.
According to the head of “Dolphin” for tourists more understandable would be, of course, the interest scheme providing cashback. But the big disadvantage is that this scheme generally falls tours cheaper 25 thousand rubles, but such tours are available, for example, in Karelia or Tatarstan. “If I found just the cashback at 20%, tourists could buy a tour in Vladimir oblast in the framework of his visit to the GoldenLCU for 14 thousand roubles and to receive the cashback 2800 rubles. But in the context of existing programs cheap tours behind the”, – says Sergey Romashkin.
Thus, there is a risk that the travel company can try to cash in on clients in this program. Although Romashkin believes that travel companies are not interested in this. “The season this year short because of the quarantine. And it is critically important to have time to catch a client in the past season. In many areas we are reducing the price on their own, without waiting for this program, because the main task is to load all 100%. And this is often possible only at lower prices”, – says the market participant. Most likely, the militants laid down certain mechanisms of control under the new program.
As for directions, the list of regions that fall under the government program is quite large. In it, conditionally, Chukotka and Kolyma, but actually, it is easy to survive a latter-day domestic tourist. It is clear that there are regions which are very popular in Russia among tourists, and there are problematic places where not every tourist will want to take a look.
“To guess in advance what part of the shot regions in the framework of the program, it is impossible. Let them try everything. Perhaps shoot at all those areas in which we think” – does not preclude Romashkin. His company selected about half of the proposed 50 regions which have already been working, and which are considered successful in terms of tourism. This, for example, Tatarstan, Karelia, Leningrad, Yaroslavl, Vladimir region, etc. “in the Fall and winter we’ll try to work in Krasnodar Krai and the Crimea, which, actually, are year-round resorts,” adds Romashkin.
“At the moment the most popular destinations among Russian tourists – Krasnodar Krai, Crimea, Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg and Mineralnye Vody. From fashionable, but not a mass – Golden ring, Karelia, Altai and Baikal. Probably they have more chances to attract more tourist flow”, – says Igor Konstantinov.
For the Russians offer a good opportunity to finally see one of the natural wonders of Russia – lake Baikal. And Irkutsk oblast, and Buryatia (the lake Baikal on the other hand) entered in the state program.
The main problem of lake Baikal in the high cost of travel. If the tourists will get a discount on the tour, but still earns the subsidy for air travel, the number of applicants among Russians to see Baikal will seriously increase. Unfortunately, with this unique Russian object most familiar to foreigners (not only Chinese) than people in Russia. The same situation is with the rest seninim Kamchatka volcanoes and hot geysers.
As for the Sunny regions of the Crimea and the Krasnodar Krai in summer, the hotels are filled to capacity. However, with autumn, there is a natural��enny decline in tourist arrivals. Subsidizing tours to these regions in autumn and winter is an opportunity for seaside resorts at least partially compensate for the losses in may and June due to the closure of the resorts. In may and June accounts for 25-30% of the annual load estimates Romashkin.
Participation in the program a single payment system “World” – only through it can pay for a tour package to get the cashback under the state program – is, of course, questions. Map “World” is not the most common in Russia. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, last year only 20% of card transactions passed through the system. The choice of the Russian payment system, protected from the West, is understandable. It will definitely help its development in the country.
However, those who have no card “the World” will face some technical difficulties which will take at least time.
“There is a possibility of using the Internet to produce a virtual map of the “World” and pay through it. However, I’m afraid, this feature is only available for young people. Still, the older return do not climb into these complex mechanisms,” says Romashkin.
Another problem, according to him, consists in the fact that the government cut travel agents are the intermediaries between tourists and tourism companies that create and sell tours. In fact, this retail point of sales tours throughout Russia.
“Only 3-5% of the rounds from the total number of sales, we sells directly through the buyer, but 95% through 10 thousand travel agents with whom we work. My colleagues and I do not understand why the travel agents have dropped out of this scheme, as they are now supposed to work, and couldn’t get back to the program,” said Romashkin.
Now the sales system of tours is about. Tourists in the Khabarovsk comes to local travel agent, who finds in the database of different travel agencies suitable tour in Sochi, buys it and then transfers through the Bank money in Moscow or St. Petersburg, where usually based travel company. Tourists in the regions rarely go to the website of the Moscow tourist company, preferring to do everything through a local facilitator. And not all Russians are ready to buy tours on the Internet, many people need when choosing a vacation spot and hotel to chat live with the managers.
Commercial Director of tour operator “Intourist” Sergey Tolchin believes, according to “Interfax” that the travel agents will not go away, but tour operators themselves have to return the Commission to the agent who bought a tour with a tourist.
However, all of these shortcomings, the programme is not important now.
The important thing now is how quickly to run the program. Because its launch late already.
Ideally, it would, of course, to run from July 1, when, in fact, was opened to tourism within the country. Because July, the flow of tourists that already does not get into the program, thebig.
“Now the important thing is not to miss the flood of August, which gives us probably another third of the total summer flow” – going through Romashkin. While the Federal tourism Agency is planning the launch of the program on August 10. Subsidies should relate to the plan office, 2 million rounds.
“August 10 is the deadline. Then we are able within the program to implement 2 million rounds. Then, roughly speaking, each week will fall off hundreds of thousands of tourists. In tourism as elsewhere a day feeds a year”, – said the head of the travel company. So the sooner this starts the program, the more using it will be tourists.
