November 9, 2018, Moscow — The cost of New Year's holidays for Russians from December 25, 2018, to January 20, 2019, increased compared to last year: by 18% on domestic routes and 40% on international routes. These findings are contained in a new study by the service According to an online booking survey conducted by Ostrovok.ru in early November, the average hotel stay abroad costs Russians 60,700 rubles, while in Russian cities it costs 18,900 rubles. One of the factors that contributed to the significant change in the cost of staying at hotels abroad was exchange rate fluctuations and the weakening of the ruble against the dollar and euro.
The average nightly rate in 5-star hotels abroad (RUB 22,600) and 4-star hotels (RUB 9,960) increased almost identically—by RUB 281 and RUB 271, respectively. The cost of a night in apartments abroad increased by RUB 261 (RUB 10,300). Among domestic destinations, the most significant price increases occurred in 2-star hotels, where a night will cost RUB 131 more than the previous year (RUB 3,050). Hostels will cost RUB 41 more (RUB 1,470). The cost of staying in apartments in Russian cities increased by RUB 11.
As of early November 2018, Moscow was the most popular city for Russian tourists to visit during the New Year holidays, with Russians booking hotels in the capital more frequently. A year earlier, Moscow also topped the rankings. Prague came in second, and St. Petersburg came in third. These same cities were among the top destinations last year, but St. Petersburg ranked second, while Prague rounded out the top three.
Three cities where Russian tourists actively booked hotels last November for the New Year holidays did not make the top 20 holiday travel destinations this year: Singapore, Vilnius, and Bangkok. Newcomers to the ranking were Dubai, New York, and Yalta.
Regarding the top 10 most popular Russian cities for New Year's holiday travel, the top five remained unchanged from last year: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, and Yalta. Kaliningrad, as it was the year before, ranked sixth. Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg moved up one spot, to seventh and eighth place, respectively. Yaroslavl and Kostroma did not make the list of most booked destinations as of early November. Newcomers to the ranking were Sevastopol and Petrozavodsk, taking ninth and tenth place, respectively.
The average duration of planned trips between December 25, 2018 and January 20, 2019 is 5.2 days for international travel and 3.9 days for domestic travel.
Among the most popular international travel destinations in early November, the cheapest 4-star hotels abroad are in Riga (4,500 rubles per night) and Istanbul (5,000 rubles). According to Ostrovok.ru, the most expensive 4-star hotels are in New York (16,600 rubles), Munich (15,500 rubles), and Paris (14,100 rubles).
Among Russian cities, the most affordable 4-star hotels were in Nizhny Novgorod (3,900 rubles) and Yekaterinburg (4,200 rubles). Hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kaliningrad cost around 5,000 rubles per night. Yalta is the most expensive (8,900 rubles).
Source: trn-news.ru
