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- Railway station in waiting: disruptions in gasoline have led to a reduction in domestic tourism
Railway station in waiting: disruptions in gasoline have led to a reduction in domestic tourism
The summer tourist season in Russia started weaker than expected: in June, organized tourist traffic decreased by almost 5%, hotels recorded a drop in bookings, and tour operators saw a decrease in package sales. Experts note a cooling demand for trips around the country during the high season. This is due to the strengthening of the savings model of behavior and the unstable situation in the fuel market. According to the PCT, 50% of summer trips are made by Russians in private cars. Disruptions in the supply of gasoline and diesel fuel are already affecting consumer behavior: travelers are more likely to abandon long-distance routes in favor of short trips and local tourism, experts say. How the tourism industry is changing in these conditions is described in the Izvestia article.
How has the demand for travel dropped
According to the results of June 2026, the number of trips across Russia in the segment of organized tourism decreased by 4.8% compared to the same month in 2025, Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), told Izvestia. According to TravelLine, the number of hotel bookings in June decreased by 16% year-on-year. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) recorded a decrease in the share of sales of package tours in Russia in July by 8.8 percentage points to 9.6%. The absolute data was not disclosed there.
The most noticeable drop in demand is observed in traditionally popular tourist regions, said Marina Merezhko, partner at CMWP's Department of Hospitality and Tourism. According to her, the number of bookings in Moscow in June and early July decreased by about 15% compared to the same period in 2025, in the Krasnodar Territory — up to 25%, in the Rostov region — by 30%.
Representatives of the hotel business also note the cooling of the market. Azimut Hotels is talking about a slowdown in tourist demand, especially in southern destinations, where logistical difficulties persist. In June and July, the domestic market "is developing modestly, and demand in a number of areas looks more cautious" than a year ago, agrees Alexander Biba, president of Cosmos Hotel Group. According to him, the guests began to plan their own trips more carefully and be more careful about their vacation expenses. As a result, the booking depth is reduced, Dmitry Gorin added.
At the same time, the situation remains heterogeneous. If the southern regions are facing a decrease in demand, then some cities are showing growth. At Cosmos Hotel Group, the number of bookings in Yaroslavl increased by 6% year—on-year, in Kazan - by 12%, while the total occupancy of the chain's hotels remains close to the level of 2025. Azimut Hotels also notes an increase in demand for trips within individual regions. For example, the number of bookings to salt lake resorts in the Orenburg region increased by 19%, in Khabarovsk — by 20%, in Yekaterinburg — by 15%.
Elena Shelekhova, a representative of OneTwoTrip, also speaks about the stagnation of demand. The share of Russia in the structure of bookings in June-July decreased by 1 percentage point year-on-year, to 72%. In addition, Russians began to travel less frequently: if in 2024 an active traveler made an average of 3.4 trips per year, now it is 3.1, she said.
How does the situation on the fuel market affect domestic tourism
Experts attribute the decrease in demand to the tense situation in the fuel market. Tourism has "stopped" without gasoline, stated a source in a large hotel operator. According to him, the number of booking cancellations increased significantly in the last week of June, as some travelers refused to travel amid fuel shortages.
"People are afraid to go even to the Moscow region, so as not to stay there on the highway," the source told Izvestia.
In summer, the share of car travel is about 50%, said Dmitry Gorin from the PCT. At the same time, other modes of transport are already operating at high capacity and are not able to quickly increase their carrying capacity, Marina Merezhko noted. According to her, this situation creates an unsatisfied demand in the market. It is partially offset by the growth of short trips in the home region, and partially postponed to later months of this year in the hope of improving the situation, the expert added. According to the Ostrovok service, about 20% of bookings in the regions most affected by fuel shortages have been postponed to later dates.
ATOR analysts called the decline in sales in July "the worst recession." This, in their opinion, is due to the population's transition to a savings-based consumption model and the difficult situation in Crimea. The unstable situation with air transport also had an impact on the negative dynamics of the market, Marina Merezhko believes. According to her, cancellations and postponements of flights have significantly complicated travel planning, especially with young children. In July, the share of family tours with children, according to ATOR, decreased by 15.1 percentage points year-on-year, to 35.6%.
The weakening of demand is accompanied by a decrease in the cost of individual travel services. According to the Tutu service, the minimum price for air tickets in June was 578 rubles, which is 6% less than in the same period of 2025. The median cost of flights to the most popular destinations from Moscow — Sochi, Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg and Vladivostok - decreased by 1% year—on-year, to 5.2 thousand rubles, a representative of this site said.
According to ATOR, the average cost of package tours in Russia in July decreased by 13.4% compared to 2025, to 116.3 thousand rubles. This is also due to the massive promotions of discounts on hotel accommodation, Dmitry Gorin is sure. According to CMWP, the most noticeable drop in the average room price and occupancy month-on-month is in Sochi, where the room rate (RevPAR) at the beginning of June was more than 40% lower than a year earlier. In Moscow, the indicator decreased by more than 20%, in St. Petersburg — by almost 14%.
If transport restrictions persist until the end of summer, domestic tourism risks ending the high season with a recession for the first time in several years, experts suggest. According to the results of the first half of the year, the situation still looks better due to the successful start of the year, however, a weak high season may significantly worsen the results of 2026, Marina Merezhko admitted.
According to Dmitry Gorin, if current trends continue, by the end of June–July, the organized tourist flow in Russia may decrease by 4% in annual terms. In the meantime, the Ministry of Economic Development expects it to grow by 4% in the summer, to 48 million people.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
