Due to the sharp rise in the dollar and euro, Irkutsk residents have become less likely to buy foreign tours, though they have not given up trips abroad entirely. Demand is shifting to southern Russia, Crimea, Sochi, and Baikal, which seem more affordable amid pricier currency. The article also explains how travel agencies are responding to the drop in demand and which destinations are most popular now.

Due to the sharp rise in the dollar and euro exchange rates, residents of Irkutsk have been buying fewer foreign travel packages, but they have not abandoned them altogether. More and more Irkutsk residents are choosing southern Russia over foreign resorts.
The demand among Russians for package tours really fell to zero across all destinations on August 24, when the euro exchange rate jumped to 83 rubles, RBC reports, citing Irina Tyurina, press secretary of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry. Russians even began canceling tours they had already paid for.
— In recent days, the number of clients has not decreased, — said the Bank of Last-Minute Tours. — Over the course of the year, demand has certainly declined, and buyer activity has also noticeably fallen compared with last month. However, this week the situation is stable. This is largely thanks to tour operators, who are lowering prices on some packages to support sales.
— This week, people have been buying tours less often, and asking more questions, — say the Sinbad Irkutsk travel agency. — But people are not canceling tours they have already bought, since in the vast majority of cases they pay 100% of the cost in advance.
— Demand has fallen, but not to zero, — says the manager of the Baikaliya Tour agency. — Last month there were more people wanting to buy tours abroad. Because of the rise in currency prices, tours to Schengen countries are bought very rarely. The most popular destinations are Thailand, Vietnam, and Turkey — you can fly to these countries on direct flights from Irkutsk.
The decline in demand is linked to the end of the “hot” season, believes Galina Solonina, executive director of the Siberian Baikal Association of Tourism (SBAT):
— The point is that the vacation season is generally already behind us. As a rule, people with children go on holiday in the summer. They have either already rested or bought their tours long ago — before the ruble exchange rate began to fluctuate. In general, autumn is the low season for outbound tourism. The next peak is December-January. Then we will see what the situation is.
And those who can make a spontaneous decision to go to the sea have the option of staying in the ruble zone — after all, there are resorts in Krasnodar Krai and Crimea. Most companies specializing in outbound tourism began working with the “Crimean” and “Sochi” destinations last year. So for the tourism business, clients’ refusal to travel abroad is not a fatal problem.
The growing popularity of destinations within Russia is also confirmed by tour company operators. Tours to Crimea are selling very well. If previously a vacation in Thailand was cheaper than in southern Russia, then with the rise in the dollar exchange rate the advantage is now on the side of domestic resorts.
Baikal is not being overlooked either. In July, SBAT forecast that Russians’ demand for Baikal would increase by 25-35% in 2015.
— Previously, a vacation on Baikal was expensive for our compatriots; now, because of the high dollar exchange rate, it is becoming more affordable compared with trips abroad, — the SBAT leadership is quoted as saying by Vladimir Kvashnin, director of the travel company Russian World.