During the 2012 summer season 20% of adult Russians have traveled far from their homes. The most popular way to spend summer vacations is visiting cities of Russia or Russian Black Sea Coast (domestic tourism). The average sum of money spent on vacations is 15% more than a year ago.
MOSCOW, September 27, 2012. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of annual survey devoted to the summer season. What is the share of Russian tourists? What are main tourist destinations? How much money have Russians spent for their vacations in 2012?
The 2012 tourist season is not closed yet, however the results are already clear. More and more Russians spend their vacations at home; this year the share of such people made up 54%. According to the surveys conducted during recent years, vacations spent at dacha are getting increasingly popular (chosen by 14% in 2008 and by 24% this year). However, there is a tourist flow increase. This year every fifth Russian (20%) reports to have chosen far destinations (both inside Russian territory and outside). This figure is the highest over the recent eight years: the tourist flow was lower in 2005 (15%).
Russians trust the same destinations as before. Most of them prefer cultural and educational tours across cities and villages of Russia (9%), or Black Sea Coast resorts (8%) which have become more popular than the resorts of Crimea (1%). Whereas the domestic tourist market does not show any substantial increase, the demand for external destinations keeps going up (5%, in 2005-2010 – not more than 3%). Less popular countries are countries of the former USSR (2% of Russians).
The level of satisfaction depends directly on the way Russians spent their vacations. Most of travelers have high level of satisfaction (89%), however those who stayed at home or at dacha are less happy with the way they spent their summer vacations (45%).
Among the reasons that hamper spending summer vacations the way people want the main reason is the lack of possibility to chose the favorite destination: more than half of potential tourists mention this factor (53%). However the crucial role is played by personal life circumstances such as health problems, lack of money et cet. (35% of respondents).
High prices, poor service are less important but not for those who chose internal destinations. The shares of those who are not pleased with the level of service is 55% among tourists who travelled to cities of Russia and the Black Sea Coast and only 27% among who went abroad. Those who mention high prices are also those Russians who chose domestic destinations (40% of those who traveled across Russia and 30% of those who traveled abroad).
As to money spent for this summer season, the average sum of money made up 19415 rub. (for each family member) which is 15.8% higher than a year ago. Talking about travelers who chose domestic or foreign destinations, their budget was 24736 rub. To compare: the average sum of money spent by tourists a year ago was 21481 rub, which is 15% less than this year. Such figures are explained by the growth of prices for most of tourist destinations.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on September 22-23, 2012. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
Where did you spend this summer vacation? (close-ended question, any number of answers) | ||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |
At home | 54 | 52 | 62 | 64 | 62 | 65 | 63 | 68 |
At dacha, garden plot | 24 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 16 |
Other city, rural area of Russia | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
Russian Black Sea Coast | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Crimea | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Baltic States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Outside the former USSR (abroad) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Other places of the former USSR | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Hard to tell | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Did you like the way how you spent your summer vacation? (close-ended question, one answer, % of those who travelled somewhere) | |||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 г | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Yes | 89 | 91 | 87 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 83 | 85 | 88 |
No | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 11 |
Hard to tell | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Did you like the way how you spent your summer vacation? (close-ended question, one answer, % of those who stayed at home or at dacha) | |||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Yes | 45 | 45 | 50 | 52 | 48 | 43 | 58 | 44 | 37 |
No | 43 | 43 | 41 | 41 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 46 | 51 |
Hard to tell | 13 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
If you did not like the way you spent your summer vacation, can you tell us why? (close-ended question, any number of answers, % of those who did not like the way they spent summer vacations) | |||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 г | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
I could not travel to the place I wanted to go | 53 | 52 | 42 | 45 | 36 | 37 | 44 | 54 | 49 |
The vacation was too short | 5 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 6 |
Bad weather | 4 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
The place where I spent my vacation was too expensive | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Poor service | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Wrong company and friends | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Poor organization (tourist agency, flight cancelled, et cet.) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Other circumstances (lack of money, health problems, family reasons) | 35 | 34 | 22 | 21 | 28 | 26 | 36 | 26 | 20 |
Hard to tell | 2 | 5 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 29 | 4 | 6 | 20 |
What is the average sum of money spent on each family member during this summer vacations? (open-ended question one answer, average sum, rub) | ||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |
Average sum, rubles | 19415 | 16759 | 15338 | 14498 | 15046 | 14244 |
Increase compared to the previous year, % | 15.8% | 9.2% | 5.7% | -3.7% | 5.6% | - |
What is the average sum of money spent on each family member during this summer vacations? (open-ended question one answer, average sum in rubles, % of those who travelled as tourist) | ||
| 2012 | 2011 |
Average sum, rubles | 24736 | 21481 |
Increase compared to the previous year, % | 15% | - |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!