Analysts from the travel service Tutu.ru studied which countries travelers will fly to for the New Year. They analyzed all early-bird air tickets purchased for travel dates from December 15, 2018, to January 15, 2019. The data was compared with the same period last year.
Demand for Europe has fallen by 171% (from 16.11% to 13.31%). Demand for destinations near and far abroad remains at last year's level. However, more travelers are planning to spend the holidays in Russian cities than last year—the share of passengers increased from 691% to 71.81%, the Tutu.ru press service told TRN.
They also noted that prices for flights to Europe remained virtually unchanged, with the average round-trip ticket decreasing by 21,000 rubles, from 25,677 to 25,242. Meanwhile, the average ticket to non-CIS countries increased by 11,000 rubles. Flights within Russia increased by 71,000 rubles (from 13,000 to 14,000 rubles). New Year's Eve tickets to CIS countries increased by an average of 101,000 rubles (from 16,448 to 18,145 rubles).
Among European destinations, flights to Prague from Moscow rank first, accounting for 111,300 total tickets purchased to Europe (slightly more than last year). Roundtrip ticket prices for this route have remained virtually unchanged over the year, at 24,000 rubles.
Vienna, departing from Moscow, and Prague, departing from St. Petersburg, share second and third place. Last New Year's, the top three most popular flights to Europe were from Moscow to Prague, Vienna, and Munich. This year, Munich dropped from third to fifth place. Paris, Budapest, London, and Frankfurt am Main also saw a decline in popularity, failing to make it into the top 10 most popular New Year's destinations this year.
Source: trn-news.ru