In January–June, 2,700 travel organizations in Russia shut down — 52.3% more than in the same period last year, Kommersant reported, citing data from the Kontur.Fokus service.
The number of new companies entering the market during this period was the lowest in three years, at just 0.84%, with insufficient openings to offset closures, the newspaper noted.
Demand for domestic vacations dropped sharply. According to Travelata, bookings for package tours within Russia fell by 31%, while the service Sletat.ru estimated a 22% decline. The downturn began early in the year but became particularly pronounced in April and May.
The situation was exacerbated by frequent closures of Sochi airport and fuel shortages in annexed Crimea following Ukrainian strikes, Kommersant wrote.
Foreign destinations failed to compensate for the losses. From early March to mid-June, sales of tours to several Middle Eastern countries were banned due to the regional conflict. As a result, the volume of bookings for trips abroad remained roughly at last year's level, while RusExpress recorded a 5% drop in applications, tour operators told the newspaper.
Tour operators had to refund clients for canceled tours — after the closure of Middle Eastern destinations, the amount involved exceeded 19 billion rubles, market participants said. Companies then faced cancellations of trips to Sochi and Crimea.
Alexander Bragin, director of the Association of Travel Aggregators, cited Russians' efforts to cut travel spending as the main factor behind the mass closures. Travelers are choosing cheaper vacation options and shortening trips, directly hitting the revenues of agencies that earn commissions on tours. Among other reasons, Bragin mentioned broader economic factors, including tax increases.