The summer season of vacations has come to an end, and the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) conducted a public opinion poll on where and how the Russians spent their vacations in 2015 under the sanctions, the devaluation of the ruble and the economic crisis.
According to Valery Fedorov, Director General of VCIOM, “41% did not take a vacation this summer. 37% did not vacation last year, the previous year the number was 46%. Not everyone takes a vacation in the summer. This is normal.”
And of those who vacation, 23% left their place of their residence this year, 36% vacationed, but without leaving. “We have more stay-at-homers than travellers. This is not due to the fact that we do not want to go anywhere, this is due to some limitations that exist objectively,” Fedorov stated.
Among those who did not vacation there are more villagers, more people with a poor financial situation and with a low level of education. Among those who took a vacation by leaving, there are many young and middle-aged people. The number of Moscow and St. Petersburg residents who left for vacation is significantly greater, it is 32% on average, while in Russia this number is only 23%.
“As for our fellow citizens with a good financial situation, 32% of them allowed themselves to go away on vacation this summer, meaning every third person. Among those who vacationed but did not leave there are pensioners and people of pre-retirement age. The number of those who left didn't go very far. The number of such vacationers was significantly higher in 2015 than a year ago. A year ago 40% of the respondents limited their vacation to leaving for their country houses, this year the number is 50%, every second person,” the Director of the VCIOM says.
First of all, the vacationers go to resorts in Russia. “In total, about 34% of vacationers responded that they had gone to different places in Russia. The resorts of Krasnodar Territory are in first place with 14%, while 6% vacationed in Crimea, and this number is significantly higher than last year. Last year only 2% said they went to Crimea. This year we see a tripling. And our country is great, there are many resorts of regional, macro-regional importance, moreover, it does not necessarily have to be a resort, perhaps just large towns and villages where relatives and friends live, so 14% of respondents, almost as many as those who vacationed in Kuban, went to other towns and villages on the territory of Russia,” Fedorov explained. Moreover, there are 13% of those who did not leave on their vacation relaxing at home, doing chores.
This year, 5% took a vacation outside the former Soviet Union, elsewhere in the former Soviet Union it was 3%. Although we highlight the Baltic states, quite a small number, less than 1%, went on vacation there. In general, vacations outside of Russia this year were chosen by 8% of the total number of tourists. This is significantly less than in the previous year. Then it was about 12%, meaning that it is less now by one third. So real changes are observed,” the Director of VCIOM concluded.
