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According to the government statistics, the number of tourists visiting Russia is falling. In 2004 the number of people entering the country on tourist visas declined by 9,2 percent as compared to 2003. And in 2005 it was a decline of 16,6 percent. Russia ‘missed’ nearly half a million tourists. At the same time, the total number of foreign people entering Russia has risen a little from 22064 thousand in 2004 to 22201 thousand in 2005. However, the number was higher in 2003. According to the information of tour operators, the decline of tourists is even worse, up to 25 percent.
The main reason of the decline is high prices for packages, followed by a lack of modern tourist-class hotels. For example, German tourists like traveling to Moscow and St. Petersburg and always choose the cheapest packages with hotels no more than 3-stars. But even this type of hotels has become too expensive for them. Japanese tourists always take hotels of the class higher than average, at least good four-star ones. But four-star hotels lifted the cost of their services to a five-star level and even the Japanese faltered. The situation with other countries is the same.
‘The price of tours sold in the West has grown by 20 to 25 percent annually over the past two years, due to inflation and increasing hotel prices in Russia’, said Sergei Sinitsyn, adviser to the chairman of Federal Tourism Agency, a body that answers to the prime minister.
Several well-known tourist hotels in the capital, such as the Moskva and Rossiya, have recently closed their doors, leaving few budget options for tour operators.
"The first problem is prices, and the government cannot control that -- but it is not even trying. Even with regard to monopolies like the railways and the high-profile museums that all tourists want to visit," said Irina Tyurina, a spokeswoman for the Russian Tourism Union, whose members claim two-thirds of the Russian market for incoming tourism.
To develop the industry, the government has proposed earmarking certain regions for tourism development, giving them the status of special economic zones that would benefit from state support. But it is far too early to say how successful this will be, Tyurina said.
Tour operators don’t expect that the situation will improve in the coming summer season. Though they note that hotels in St. Petersburg reduced the prices a little last summer, which was partially caused by the serious competition with numerous mini hotels. And the prices won’t rise in the coming summer. Nevertheless, the package has become more expensive due to the increase of prices for train and airway tickets by 20 percent on average. Meanwhile, Moscow hotels stay true to themselves raising the cost of services by minimum 10 percent. The travel companies try hard to hold the prices, naturally losing their profit. They also have to spend their own means to advertise Russia as a tourist destination abroad, as they don’t feel any support from the government. In fact, Russia spends 3 million euros ($3.6 million) per year on advertising itself abroad as a tourist destination, according to the Federal Tourism Agency. Finland, by comparison, spent 26.5 million euros last year, while Mexico spent almost 120 million euros, according to the World Tourism Organization.
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