In a healthy business: the demand for children's camps has more than tripled
Over the past year, Russians' interest in summer camps has increased 3.4 times, analysts told Izvestia. Among them, classical, sports, and language classes are in high demand. Currently, over 31 thousand children's camps have started operating, and more than 2.3 million children are vacationing there. The average cost of one trip without travel expenses is from 70 thousand rubles. About the dangers that can await in the camps and how to prepare a child for them, see the Izvestia article.
Which travel packages have seen an increase in demand
Russians' demand for children's camps has grown significantly in 2025, analysts and travel sales services told Izvestia. According to the Avito Services platform, interest in this type of recreation has increased 3.4 times over the year. During the month, demand increased by 36.7%.
Most often, they are looking for full-fledged summer shifts in classic camps. In addition, the demand for sports (an increase of five times compared to last year) and language camps (+40%) is also growing. As well as day stays (+51%).
"This reflects the parents' desire to provide children not only with active recreation, but also with opportunities for development and gaining new knowledge," the company's press service said. — Over the past year, the number of ads offering holidays at a children's summer camp has increased by 78%.
At the same time, demand data fluctuates significantly depending on internal business statistics.
According to the CEO of Lintas Tour LLC, demand has increased by about 25% this year. According to her, parents most often consider the Moscow region and the surrounding regions to send their children to the camp. And the Mosgortur company recorded a decline in demand from month to month. The decrease was 20% compared to last year, said Zhanna Malemina, head of the department for attracting partners in the field of children's recreation at the company. This is due, in particular, to the increase in prices for vouchers to suburban and children's camps in the nearest regions.
"We are also seeing a redistribution of the volume of available bookings between the Krasnodar Territory and the Moscow region, along with the regions closest to the capital," she said. — The ratio of bookings between the sea and the nearest regions is 13 to 87% this year. Last year it was 35 to 65%.
The press service of the national tour operator Alean told Izvestia that parents actively choose camps in the Tuapse region, Gelendzhik, Sochi, and Crimea. They confirmed a decrease in demand for children's holidays in Anapa: compared to last year, the number of bookings decreased by 30-40%.
— Anapa is mainly chosen by regular guests this year. The camps are ready to receive children, and instead of beach holidays, they offer entertainment and educational programs, and recreation in the pools," they said. — Theme camps, business camps, and language camps are traditionally in high demand.
The Stavropol Territory, Kaliningrad Region and Dagestan also remain popular.
The average cost of travel packages in Russia, excluding travel, is 70-100 thousand rubles. Prices for children's holidays have increased by 20%, Alean added.
What are the risks of being sent to a children's camp
The demand for children's recreation is growing, confirmed the expert of the direction "Popular Front. Analytics", Head of the NF Bureau of Investigation Valery Alekseev. All camps that are officially operating undergo mandatory inspections and begin accepting children only if they have received safety certificates.
— But standard checks in this matter cannot be dispensed with, — he noted. — This year, the Ministry of Education is planning to conduct large-scale monitoring of camps for the first time, and the Popular Front will join in a number of regions, and we will check the quality and safety of food especially carefully.
According to Valery Alekseev, last year's random inspection of one hundred school and health camps showed that both children and parents are generally satisfied with the catering.
— So far, there are significantly fewer appeals from camps on this topic than from schools, — said the expert. — In camps, children eat from breakfast to dinner — this is a different regime, there is no race for a schedule to be able to feed everyone in ten minutes. Many institutions were built back in Soviet times, which ensured the availability of facilities that meet scientific standards for catering. But at the same time, the material base often requires updating and staff training, and these are not the simplest processes.
The Rospotrebnadzor report "Consumer Rights Protection in the Russian Federation in 2024" provides an example of the unfair operation of one of the children's health camps in the Amur region. 88 cases of acute intestinal infection were registered there.
"The regional Department of the department conducted an epidemiological investigation, as a result of which it was established that the affected children were diagnosed with acute gastroenteropathy caused by Norovirus. The source of the infection was three employees of the food store, in whose clinical material norovirus RNA was found," the document says.
The reason for the spread of the infection was non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene by staff, violation of disinfection regimes, and access to work without medical examination. Upon the revealed violations, a protocol was drawn up on the temporary prohibition of the activities of a legal entity and a protocol on an administrative offense.
The Bureysky district court issued a decree suspending the work of the institution for 60 days. In addition, the regional Rospotrebnadzor filed a lawsuit "to protect the rights of a group of affected persons" — 22 people joined it. On March 20, 2024, the court partially satisfied the requirements.
"In favor of the affected children, 582 thousand rubles were recovered as compensation for moral damage and 4,400 rubles as expenses incurred as a result of providing substandard health services," the report says.
A similar situation occurred in June 2025, on June 6, 11 pupils of the Eaglet in the Omsk region, aged seven to 14, were admitted to an infectious diseases hospital with signs of poisoning. A criminal case has been opened on the provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of minors.
The regional department of Rospotrebnadzor established that the cause of the children's illness was a norovirus infection. After the incident at the camp, the governor of the Omsk region, Vitaly Khotsenko, instructed the regional Ministry of Education to strengthen control over the quality of children's recreation in all health facilities in the region.
In early June of this year, Rospotrebnadzor held a conference call on the start of the summer wellness campaign. Over 31,000 children's camps have started operating in Russia, and more than 2.3 million children are already vacationing there. About 2 thousand operators will be involved in catering for vacationing children, and acaricide treatment measures have been carried out in 87% of camps. A number of institutions will open later, processing will be carried out in them five days before the opening.
What problems can arise in a children's camp?
A change of environment, an active daily routine and a large gathering of children, especially if they gather in nature, are always certain health risks, recalled Olga Ulankina, an expert at the Hemotest laboratory. The most common are intestinal infections, sunburn, dehydration, insect bites, and injuries.
"That's why everything in camps is usually strictly regulated: children are not allowed to enter the pond alone, walk without a cap, or eat yogurt brought by their parents," she said. — Such restrictions are introduced in order to minimize the main risks.
Pavel Ozornykh, a pediatrician at the Sberbank Health medical company, added that among the health risks a child may face while in a children's camp is heat or sunstroke.
— It is worth noting that children have a higher risk of developing heat and sunstroke due to the imperfection of the thermoregulation system, - he said. — Among the reasons for the development of these conditions, it is worth highlighting being in the open sun at peak activity from about 11 to 16 hours, especially without a headdress, being outdoors or indoors at an air temperature above 30 degrees, high humidity above 80%, physical activity in the heat, insufficient drinking regime.
But despite the efforts of the organizers, the child should also be prepared: tell him about the rules of behavior in nature, remind him why it is important to wear a hat in the heat, drink water, wash his hands before eating, do not touch wild animals and unfamiliar plants, Olga Ulankina added.
"It is also important to make sure that the child knows how to behave on sports grounds and in nature — you can not push, climb tall structures without insurance, go into the woods without adults, walk on tall grass," she pointed out.
How to choose a children's camp
When choosing a children's camp, the first thing parents need to check is whether the institution is listed in the state register, Zhanna Malemina reminded.
"Regional registries include camps that have passed sanitary-epidemiological and fire checks, have an anti—terrorist security passport, as well as a medical license or an agreement with a medical organization," the expert added. — This is the main indicator of the camp's compliance with safety requirements.
Before buying a trip, parents should carefully study the text of the contract for the provision of recreation and recreation services. In 2018, the Ministry of Education and Science developed a standard contract form.
"We recommend comparing it with the form that the camp offers to sign," she pointed out. — All services — accommodation, catering, events, and others — must be listed in the appendix.
When preparing a child for the camp, it is necessary to prepare an optimal basic set of clothes for him, which will make it possible to make various variations for about ten days, the VDC "Eaglet" noted.
"Parents sometimes overload the suitcase,— said Zhanna Malemina. — Put only what you really need, choose practical things: T-shirts with dark borders at the throat and on the sleeves, suits with a zipper instead of buttons, worn sneakers. Raincoats are more comfortable and lighter than umbrellas.
A common mistake, she says, is to put mosquito repellent or tanning products in a suitcase, as well as deodorant in the form of a spray. Such things are forbidden in the camp for security reasons and they are being taken away. Also, you do not need to give expensive things to children.
"Expensive gadgets and jewelry — for example, chains, earrings, bracelets — can cause some envy among children whose families are not allowed to have such things," the expert emphasized. — It is better not to provoke unnecessary conflicts in the squad. In addition, there is a risk of losing these valuable items.
The stop list contains everything that may be unsafe for children to rest. It is forbidden to carry any piercing and cutting objects and explosives, such as firecrackers, in the health camp. Alcoholic beverages, narcotic drugs, and toxic substances are prohibited. It is also forbidden to use boilers and kettles seized from home in camps.
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