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- The heat wave has arrived: demand for resorts on the Black Sea coast has grown to 95%
The heat wave has arrived: demand for resorts on the Black Sea coast has grown to 95%
This summer, interest in the resorts of the Black Sea coast of our country has grown to 95% compared to last year, representatives of the tourism industry told Izvestia. Anapa, Gelendzhik and Adler are among the most sought—after destinations. Market participants cite the conflict in the Middle East as one of the reasons, because of which Russians are afraid to fly to the UAE, Egypt and other countries. The demand for domestic tourism also influenced the increase in the cost of holidays: the average cost of a night in a hotel on the Black Sea coast increased by 17-50%, while the average price increase in the Russian Federation was about 4%. What other factors influenced the choice of travelers can be found in the Izvestia article.
Why tourists are more likely to choose the Russian south
This year, Russians began to pay more attention to the resorts of the Black Sea coast when choosing a summer vacation. As the press service of the Ostrovok booking service informed Izvestia, the most serious increase in demand occurred in the coastal cities of Anapa — by 95%, Gelendzhik — by 41%, Adler — by 40%, as well as in the resort towns of Vityazevo — by 85% and Kabardinka — by 63%.
Analysts also recorded an increase in leisure activity in Krasnodar, the capital of southern Russia, where the number of bookings increased by 25%.
In addition to the above-mentioned territories, the top 10 resort areas of this area include Sochi and Sirius, Esto-Sadok, Yeysk, Divnomorskoye. At the same time, the overall growth in demand for destinations in the Krasnodar Territory for the coming summer increased by 4% year-on-year.
As for prices, according to analysts, accommodation prices rose the most in Anapa over the year — by 17% (from 5.2 thousand to 6.1 thousand rubles per night), in Kabardinka — by 13% (from 6 thousand to 6.8 thousand), in Gelendzhik — by 9% (from 6.65 thousand to 7,25 thousand). Prices rose less noticeably in Sirius — by 6% (from 7.7 thousand to 8.2 thousand) and Sochi — by 1% (6.6 thousand to 6.7 thousand).
"The increase is due to a general rise in the price of goods and services, as well as an increase in hotel labor costs," Ostrovok's press service explained.
At the same time, they noted that the average cost of a booked night in the accommodation facilities of the Krasnodar Territory for the summer is 6.7 thousand rubles. According to analysts, this is only 3% higher than last year. But the average price increase in Russia was 4%, to 6.55 thousand rubles.
The increase in demand for resorts is confirmed by a representative of the Azimut Hotels chain.
Anapa has the greatest growth, 1.5 times year—on—year, he says. Interest in Gelendzhik has increased significantly against the background of the opening of the airport," the Izvestia interlocutor explained
According to his estimates, the increase in bookings this summer in all directions will be 10-15%.
The governor of the region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 11 that all beaches in the region where fuel oil emissions had previously been recorded would be opened this year. In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Saveliev said on March 27 at a meeting of the government commission for the elimination of the consequences of the fuel spill that Anapa beaches are planned to be fully prepared for the reception of tourists by June 1.
— Demand has increased significantly, several times for individual items, and this is already affecting prices, which, according to our data, have increased by up to 50% in some cases. This is also due to military operations in the Middle East, where our citizens are afraid to travel to due to the incompleteness of the conflict, such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and others," Sergei Golov, president of the Union of Travel Agencies and a member of the Coordinating Council for Tourism at the Civic Chamber, explained to Izvestia.
In March 2026, for security reasons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development recommended that our citizens refrain from tourist trips to six countries of the Persian Gulf - the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. According to Maya Lomidze, executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), these countries account for about 2.6 million Russian tourists, which is almost 13% of the total outbound flow, which may decrease significantly by the end of the year if hostilities do not stop.
In addition, experts say, a negative role for tourism has been played by the fact that these countries remain connecting destinations for trips to Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and African countries.
Where else do Russians go on vacation
About 80% of Russians will spend their summer holidays without leaving the country, said Sergey Romashkin, CEO of the Dolphin travel agency and ATOR Vice president.
— Our resorts are in the top. Of course, the Black Sea is in the first place, but the Baltic Sea is also in demand. In addition, a popular recreation format similar to a seaside beach is now in Russia — on the shores of the Volga basin, on the lakes of Karelia and other large bodies of water where you can swim and sunbathe, as at sea," the expert explained to Izvestia.
According to him, this is due to the fact that many Russians today are afraid to fly planes due to military conflicts and choose other types of transport - trains or cars.
If we talk about the top foreign destinations, then, according to him, Turkey occupies the first place.
— The good news for tourists today is that we see price reductions in many Turkish hotels. So far, it is modest — 5-7%, but if the trend towards strengthening the ruble continues, we expect a reduction in the cost of holidays by 10-15%. This is a serious competitive factor for our hotels," the business representative explained.
Egypt is in second place in popularity, Sergey Romashkin explained.
— It may seem unsafe to fly there, but the prices are 10-15% lower, and the quality of services is comparable. Vietnam, Thailand and China are competing for the third place. Up to 1 million Russian tourists may visit each of these countries in 2026," the industry representative said.
The dynamics of demand this season depends on both the cluster and the specific hotel, the head of the sales and entertainment department of the Mantera Group of companies (manages hotels in Sochi, Krasnaya Polyana, Crimea, etc.) told Izvestia. Ekaterina Khardjieva.
According to her, tourists in the mountain cluster have become more likely to reserve vacations closer to the arrival date, while coastal hotels, on the contrary, show an increase in early bookings.
— During the peak summer season, we expect the utilization of coastal facilities at the level of 90-95%, and mountain facilities at about 65-70%, — said a business representative.
At the same time, she noted that the forecast for this holiday season remains restrained. Against the background of general economic turbulence and logistical difficulties, Russians are reviewing their priorities. According to her, vacations are still an important part of life, but the structure of trips is changing: instead of two weeks on the coast, people often choose one, and instead of going to Sochi, they prefer holidays in neighboring regions or closer to their place of residence.
One of the main reasons for the increased interest in domestic resorts could be a slowdown in the growth of real incomes of the population, said Georgy Ostapkovich, head of the HSE Center for Market Research. According to him, at the same time, the price increase affected almost all categories of expenses, including air tickets, so citizens with low and average incomes began to approach all their expenses more economically. The expert also noted that in recent years, domestic resorts have noticeably approached foreign destinations in terms of service and quality of service, which did not exist in Russia even five years ago.
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