The tourist season in Kamchatka this year shows alarming trends: travel bookings began to arrive actively only in May, with a significant delay compared to the traditional March start. According to the press service of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, one of the main reasons for this shift, experts say, is a significant increase in the price of holidays on the peninsula – prices have increased by up to 30% compared to last year, which turned out to be sensitive for many Russians.
In particular, the cost of popular helicopter excursions has reached 100 thousand rubles, and the price of a flight hour has also increased. Sergey Konkin, director of the Great Journey company, explains that Kamchatka itself is a rather expensive destination, moreover, it does not offer beach holidays and is designed for a specific audience, while residents of the northern country often seek warmth and the sea.
An additional factor influencing the decline in interest in Kamchatka was the increased pent-up demand for foreign trips. Irina Sedova, Chairman of the Kamchatka Tourism Industry Association, notes that many international destinations have opened up for Russians this season, such as Vietnam, and after a long break, compatriots enthusiastically choose them for their holidays.
Sergey Konkin also expresses the opinion that it is still difficult to give an accurate forecast for the upcoming season. He does not rule out that the region’s tourism industry will face either a reduction in the total number of guests or increased demand at a later stage. For comparison, earlier, according to Rosstat, over 400,000 tourists visited Kamchatka in one of the annual reporting periods, which underlines the former high interest in the destination, which is now under pressure from price and competitive factors.