The economy of impressions: how tourists' preferences change
The portrait of a Russian tourist is changing, experts say. Increasingly, travelers want not just to see something, but to become a direct participant in the events: to milk a goat or get behind the wheel of an SUV. Wellness and sports programs have been actively gaining popularity for several years now. Travelers go on trips to participate, for example, in marathons. But "sleep tourism" is also in the trends — hotels even equip special rooms. The most interesting projects are in the Izvestia material.
Let's go get some sleep
Due to the fact that we are very overloaded and do not always know how to relax properly, there is a request for relaxation, relaxation, sleep tourism," Yulia Rybakova, General Director of the ANO Center for the Development of Creative Tourism, told Izvestia.
Hotels have picked up on this trend. For example, the Rosa Springs 5* hotel in the Sochi mountains has developed a special "Healthy Sleep" room category with an expanded pillow menu, silent humidifiers and air purifiers. Other resort hotels also offer this menu, as well as, for example, Azimut Aerostar 4* in Moscow. Domina Pulkovo 5* in St. Petersburg has pillows for pregnant women.
At the same time, Yulia Rybakova noted the trend towards moderate physical activity.
— Sports competitions are very popular, but they are not professional. For example, races and swims. And also yoga retreats," she added. — Today, leading health resorts offer individual and group program formats. These include expeditions to nature reserves, hiking, retreats in picturesque corners of the world, and intensive wellness marathons.
Kamila Velibekova, Managing Partner and founder of Premier Tourism, notes the growing popularity of tours that include a combination of detox programs, meditations, breathing practices and functional training.
"There are also VIP activities: individual classes with world experts, from yoga and qigong masters to professional tennis players and golf instructors," the Izvestia interlocutor pointed out.
Democratization of the extreme
Other active diving tours are also gaining popularity. Travelers no longer want to be just spectators — they strive to become explorers and discoverers," emphasizes Natalia Anokhina, Brand Director of KAZ Sever.
— Trends that seemed niche a few years ago are coming to the fore, but today they form the demands of millions. For example, expedition tourism: no longer a vacation, but an adventure with elements of a professional challenge. People are no longer ready to settle for the role of passengers. They want to drive all—terrain vehicles themselves, plot routes through the tundra or ice fields," the expert said.
She cited as an example the test drive of the Sever snowmobiles in the conditions of the ice fields and the "walking sands" of Olkhon.
— Our experience on Lake Baikal has proved that even in extreme conditions, untrained participants (under the supervision of instructors) successfully cope with driving. This gives rise to a new trend — the "democratization of the extreme," where technology makes complex things simple," Natalia Anokhina explained.
According to her, extreme sports are moving from the category of "not for everyone" to just another type of outdoor activity.
But some people need more extremes. The most striking trend that is currently being observed is the growing interest in survival tourism and extreme challenges, says Vali Kovalevsky, founder of the Naturalist booking service for glamping, eco—hotels and recreation centers.
— People don't just want to relax, but to test their boundaries and understand their capabilities. The survivalist clubs grow like mushrooms after the rain," he points out.
According to Kovalevsky, quest tours are becoming popular when you need to find a waterfall, cave or other object using maps and hints. There are also tours where they teach you how to build a campfire, pitch a tent, and navigate. People want to learn practical skills, not just listen to stories.
Denis Cheprasov, president of the Polar Travel Club, confirms that it is no longer enough for many to go to the beach or to an all-inclusive hotel.
"This leads more and more tourists to our products, for example, a unique cruise to the North Pole on a nuclear icebreaker, when we not only reach the top of the world, but also visit the northernmost territories of the country, the Franz Josef Land archipelago," he says.
Digital Detox
However, Denis Cheprasov noted other trends: the demand for eco-tourism and wildlife research, as well as for digital detox.
— Silence, the absence of mobile communication and a constant stream of exciting experiences is already a trend for digital detox, time without gadgets. It attracts more and more people who want not to have fun and tickle their nerves, but to explore this world in a more relaxed rhythm," the expert explained.
There is an increasing interest in outdoor accommodation. According to Evgeny Malygin, Deputy Director for Government Relations at the Tutu travel service, this trend continues to develop through the growing interest in camping and glamping.
"This summer, it has increased several times compared to 2024,— the Izvestia interlocutor states. — This can be seen from the data of the Tutu travel service. There is growth everywhere, both at home and abroad.
The expert cites several reasons: on the one hand, the service itself is developing, and on the other, the habits of travelers are changing. At the same time, camping sites are becoming more convenient: thanks to the developed infrastructure, you can now relax in nature in comfort, save money, and arrange a digital detox.
Ekaterina Movsesyan, CEO of CROS, also noted that non-standard travel formats that go beyond classic holidays are gaining popularity, also highlighting the trend towards digital detox tourism, which involves Internet-free vacations in eco-hotels. In addition, according to her, the demand for travel in combination with volunteering is growing in the world, for example, assistance in restoring forests or supporting local farmers. In Russia last year, such an example was the rescue of birds affected by fuel oil in the Black Sea.
Harvest, milk the goat
By the way, support for farmers is an area that is actively gaining popularity in Russia. According to Evgeny Mylygin, according to a VTsIOM survey, six out of ten Russians are interested in farming routes. Among the main activities are tastings, participation in the harvest and the purchase of farm products.
— The Ministry of Agriculture supports the direction: in particular, farms and other facilities can receive up to 10 million rubles under the Agrotourism grant, and there are regional grants for the development of such projects," the specialist notes.
Igor Kalinin, Director of Development of the My Hectare project, confirmed that people want to get away from the city, feel the "real" life: work in the garden, bake bread in a Russian oven, milk a goat — and all this voluntarily.
In addition, according to him, there is a growing interest in non-standard formats: living in cottages with stove heating, in treehouses, in dome tents. Statistics confirm that, according to Avito Travel, the demand for daily rental of huts in Russia as a whole has increased 2.5 times over the year. The supply is also increasing. The number of huts available for daily rent in the whole country increased by 2.2 times year on year.
Igor Kalinin added that gastronomic tourism is closely intertwined with agrotourism. The main trend is local products and farm cuisine. Tourists want to try something that is "only from the garden," cheese from a neighboring village, pies according to their grandmother's recipe, honey from an apiary by the river.
Vali Kovalevsky spoke about foraging: collecting wild edible plants. People want to learn how to find food in the forest, to understand what can and cannot be eaten. Cooking over a campfire, according to him, is no longer just kebabs, but full-fledged dishes prepared in traditional ways over an open fire.
Dinner as a performance
Interest in urban gastronomy is also growing. For example, street food is actively promoted in Kaliningrad. As Yulia Rybakova noted, in recent years there has been an active increase in gastro travel: for example, in St. Petersburg, Rubinstein Street has grown on this. There are places where tourists come to go to nightclubs. Plus, according to her, new locations are emerging: food courts, markets, public and creative spaces such as New Holland or Sevkabel Port, where you can eat, walk, watch something, listen to music.
In Tatarstan, Evgeny Malygin said, there are "immersion" food tours: you can go to the market, cook chak-chak with the locals, and then join a family dinner.
According to Ekaterina Movsesyan, historical cuisine is an interesting trend, when restaurants and grocery stores offer reconstructions of dishes from the past, for example, noble cuisine of the 19th century — and not only that. For example, at the Suranov House in Kolomna, you can immerse yourself in the life of a merchant family and, accordingly, try dishes prepared in the oven according to recipes from the family cookbook.
Kamila Velibekova noted another trend in gastronomy: immersive dinners — meals are served in unusual locations, accompanied by theatrical shows, live music and interactive performances.
According to the Tutu survey, 38% of respondents choose this direction because of their interest in local cuisine.
Tours to the ancestors and beyond the transformation
Immersive excursions are also becoming more popular. According to the head of the travel booking service for Russia and the world, Turslet (part of Fly.<url>") by Ksenia Andriankova, this format is the future, as it is an opportunity not just to listen to a fascinating guide's story, but to literally live it, feel it through touch, images and sounds.
Experts also talk about other unusual trends. For example, according to Evgeny Malygin, one of the trends is genealogical tourism — trips to the ancestral homeland, including with children. Such trips turn into family adventures and combine relaxation and personal history exploration.
Yulia Rybakova spoke about transformational tourism: people go on a journey to reboot and realize the changes.
— It is part of creative tourism and the experience economy. We all live in transformations to make them easier, there is a request "I want to change quickly and magically." Travel is such an effective practice for living through transformational processes," the expert explained.
She noted that transformational tourism has not yet grown into a separate direction, but it is a different type of product. People go to learn something unusual.
— For example, in Altai, through various activities — meditative, dancing, natural — you begin to get to know yourself more, you learn to restore contact with yourself, your body, — Yulia Rybakova pointed out.
Another example, according to her, is the Arkhangelsk Region and the Kenozersky National Park, where tourists immerse themselves in the culture and lifestyle of local residents.
— Getting to know them, getting to know their worldview, you change your world in many ways. You immerse yourself in the natural landscapes of the Russian North, taste the food, live like the locals, sing songs, walk and change," said the interlocutor of Izvestia.
New points of attraction
By the way, taking into account new requests, the geography of travel is also changing. As Ksenia Andriankova emphasized, there is a trend towards choosing trips to little-explored and unpopular regions.
— Previously, tourists "ran" for popular and well-publicized tourist locations. Now there are more and more requests for tours to little-known and inaccessible, but at the same time very interesting points of attraction. Another interesting trend that we notice is that travelers are less likely to choose tours and sightseeing programs that combine several destinations at once, for example, a tour of the Caucasus regions — on the contrary, they want to immerse themselves in the culture and history of one place as much as possible," the specialist emphasizes.
Ekaterina Movsesian noted that social networks strongly influence the popularity of destinations: viral videos can make a previously unknown place fashionable overnight.
— Bloggers and micro-influencers also play an important role, especially local ones, which tourists trust more than traditional media. The latest trend is the planning of individual routes using neural networks," she added.
The demand for accommodation facilities is also being transformed. The interest in eco-hotels goes beyond the choice of campsites, glamping, huts. Evgeny Malygin stressed that travelers pay attention to whether the hotel has passed certification, whether it uses LED lamps and water-saving plumbing. For example, many hotels in Krasnaya Polyana meet such requirements. Today, the expert specified, 30 regions of the Russian Federation are recognized as environmentally advanced — this is evidenced by the results of a study on the sustainable development of tourism in the regions by the National Rating Agency and the ESG Laboratory at Moscow State University.
The price, location and quality of tourist accommodation remain key factors of choice for Russian travelers, the executive director of the platform emphasized. Bronevik.com Marina Goncharenko. But at the same time, a counter trend is gaining momentum — an increase in demand for fairly expensive hotels with a special concept. It's not the price that matters here, but the atmosphere and unique user experience. Such facilities offer not just overnight accommodation and breakfast, but impressions: original design, pronounced local style, environmental friendliness, creative or urban aesthetics.
How tourism will change
Generational change affects leisure concepts, as different age groups have different preferences, behaviors, and travel requirements, admits Vadim Zhukov, Associate Professor of Management in International Business and the Tourism Industry at GUU.
— This affects the formation of travel offers, the choice of leisure formats and trends in the industry. The transition from classical tourism in the format of sightseeing to a service product offering emotions and impressions is a modern trend that will transform the tourism industry, the expert predicts.
According to him, domestic tourism will develop using interactive forms of interaction with the host country, allowing to unleash the creative potential of travelers themselves, to make them co-authors of their holidays. Vadim Zhukov stressed that it is essential for tour organizers to master the design of impressions, event technologies, add immersiveness and involve local residents in organizing the attraction and service of tourists.
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