Analysts told about unexpected destinations for Russians to travel in May

In 2026, Russians began to discover new holiday destinations for the May holidays. On March 21, analysts of the OneTwoTrip travel planning service told Izvestia about which cities and countries aroused the interest of Russian citizens.

This year, Russians are going to have a little less rest for the May holidays: the average hotel booking period is 2.3 days, which is 0.4 days less than in 2025. Travelers choose more affordable housing — for about 10.25 thousand rubles per day, which is 150 rubles cheaper than a year ago. It is noted that in 2026, travelers paid attention to the Belgorod, Arkhangelsk and Bryansk regions, where there were no bookings last year.

"The demand for hotels in Adygea has increased significantly: its share in the total volume of orders has increased sevenfold. Bookings for May hotels are much more frequent in Crimea (demand has increased fivefold), as well as in Sverdlovsk (4.2 times), Ryazan (four times) and Novosibirsk (3.6 times) regions," the analysts noted.

Russians plan to spend an average of 3.6 days on vacation in foreign destinations, which is slightly more than in 2025 (3.4 days). At the same time, they choose more affordable housing, spending about 18.1 thousand rubles per day, which is 1.3 rubles cheaper than a year ago.

Romania, Cape Verde, India and Montenegro became the real discoveries for the May holidays in 2026 - these countries were not chosen by Russian tourists last year. There has also been a significant increase in interest in Serbia, where the demand for housing has increased sixfold, as well as in Poland (an increase of 3.3 times), Abkhazia (2.5 times) and Cyprus (2 times).

Without refusals and hidden deductions: how the rules of hotel reservations will change in Russia starting in 2026

Starting from March 2026, all hotels and other accommodation facilities must be entered in a special register.

OneTwoTrip experts said on March 2 that Russians began to travel to China more often to celebrate the Chinese New Year: the number of hotels booked increased by 42%, and air tickets purchased — by 55%. In addition, the budget for accommodation has also increased — to an average of 12.7 thousand rubles per day, which is 1.4 thousand rubles more than last year.

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