Excellent reaction: tourists canceled 25% of their trips to Dagestan for the May holidays

After the second wave of flooding in Dagestan, Russians began actively canceling bookings to the republic for the May holidays, industry representatives told Izvestia. Currently, 25% of the tours already purchased have been canceled, and new sales have dropped by 40% in a week. At the same time, before the outbreak of the disaster, the republic could count on a successful season — in the first quarter there was a significant increase in tourist traffic. So, people went to Kaspiysk almost three times more often than last year, to Derbent and Makhachkala — about one and a half times. Now the interest of vacationers is shifting to the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea.

Tourists refused to travel

The volume of bookings for tours to Dagestan has decreased by 40% over the past week, Sergei Romashkin, a member of the PCT Board and CEO of the Dolphin tour operator, told Izvestia. This was the result of two waves of floods that affected the republic in late March and early April.

— There are no bookings for the next dates. But the demand for summer after June 1 remains at a high level. We expect that after the restoration is completed, the tourist flow in the republic will recover," Romashkin said.

Currently, about 25% of bookings for the May holidays have been canceled, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies (ATA) and CEO of the Pink Elephant chain, told Izvestia.

— Naturally, sales in general dropped by 70 percent for the May holidays, — he said.

According to Mkrtchyan, when the first flood hit on March 28, "it wasn't good, but it was fixable." Then the main tourist areas of Dagestan — Derbent, Izbirbash, Sulak Canyon — were not affected.

— Makhachkala and Kaspiysk were partially affected, several hotels were slightly damaged, as well as the beach infrastructure: there were restaurants and cafes on the shore. But the impact of the elements the other day is already serious, because the water supply was damaged and poisoning with substandard water began. In addition, Derbent district was affected, and this is the main tourist destination of Dagestan," Aleksan Mkrtchyan explained.

The tourist flow to the republic will not fully recover by the May holidays, the expert believes.

The press service of the Multitour tour operator also reported that the pace of booking in Dagestan has slowed down, although the company has not noticed any cancellations of tours.

"Tourists are in no hurry to abandon their booked tours for the summer, as there is enough time to restore the damaged infrastructure," they believe.

And the Alean tour operator estimated a reduction in booking rates of 20% week to week.

"The temporary cooling of demand should not have a significant impact on summer sales," the company's press service believes. — Some tourists took a break, waiting for new reports on the situation in the republic.

But in general, they noted, interest in the destination remains, travelers do not abandon previously purchased tours for May–September, and as the situation stabilizes in the coming weeks, demand for the destination will recover.

And the Ministry of Economic Development presented the growth rate of the number of trips in the first two months of 2026 compared to the same period last year: Sevastopol (+337%), North Ossetia (+204%), Karachay-Cherkessia (+119%), Dagestan (+106%), Tuva (+103%) and Amur the region (+74%).

What was the tourist flow in Dagestan

According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, Kaspiysk was the leader in the growth of bookings — the number of orders increased by 182% year-on-year, the analysts of the platform reported. Bronevik.com .

"In general, Dagestan has strengthened its position on the country's tourist map: Derbent (+68%) and Makhachkala (+56%) are also among the fastest growing destinations," the company said.

Anapa took the second place in terms of the growth rate of bookings (+127%). There is a recovery in the tourist flow after last year's decline related to environmental problems. Arkhyz is on the third line (+98%) — it is gaining popularity as one of the key areas of skiing and outdoor activities. Maikop (+66%) and Krasnodar (+60%) are also among the leaders — tourists choose these cities as a base for trips to the regions, combining holidays in them with short trips to neighboring locations.

However, Aleksan Mkrtchyan reported that in general, Dagestan in early 2026 showed an increase in tourist traffic of about 8% year on year. The republic demonstrated rapid growth of 30-40% in 2022-2023.

— If the republic recovers from losses in two months, then by the end of the year it is possible to reach about minus 10%. This is a bad option. A good option is if you manage to return to the level of last year. For example, by selling tours for June–October. Because in October, for example, even on the Black Sea, you can't swim everywhere, but you can in the Caspian Sea," the expert said.

Where are tourists being redistributed

Tourists are being redistributed to Sochi, Anapa and Crimea for the May holidays, Aleksan Mkrtchyan said.

— Somewhere we see a sharp increase - in Anapa, plus 40%, but this is due to the low base of last year. And interest in Anapa is recovering not gradually, but very quickly. This is happening against the background of news about the opening of beaches there by July this year. Crimea has a good growth rate, plus 17%. Sochi is still minus 10% of last year's level, but this is due to the high cost of accommodation," the expert said.

He also noted that Abkhazia is becoming more and more popular — prices there are 30% lower than in Sochi. At the same time, the transport accessibility of the republic has increased significantly — the new airport complex of Sukhum International Airport has been put into operation.

Multitur also suggested that part of the tourist flow may shift from Dagestan to the Krasnodar Territory.

"The Anapa hotel base can accommodate everyone, but at the moment tourists are in a wait—and-see attitude," the company noted.

Dagestan is represented on the market by sightseeing tours and beach holidays, Sergey Romashkin recalled.

— Beach tourists can find an alternative on the beaches of the Krasnodar Territory. There is enough time before the season, tourists will not rush," he believes. — As for the excursion flow, there is no alternative here. Dagestan is a unique place, and after the situation normalizes, tourists will return there.

The Alean press service noted that Dagestan does not compete for tourists with the Krasnodar Territory: the hotel base of these regions differs. Currently, there are few full-board hotels in the republic, and the children's infrastructure is not well developed.

"Therefore, family tourists, especially vacationers with young children, tend to choose facilities with developed infrastructure and all—inclusive facilities on the Black Sea," the operator's press service said. Dagestan offers a different format of recreation, it is adventure tourism with immersion in the culture and gastronomy of the region, exploring natural attractions and various activities — jipping, rafting, horseback riding.

And the Avito Travel service also recalled that Moscow and the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Sverdlovsk Region, Bashkiria and the Rostov Region were among the popular destinations in the first quarter of 2026 in terms of the number of daily accommodations booked.