RUSSIAN TRAVEL AGENCIES ARE PREPARING FOR THE WINTER CLOSE DOWN

The Russian tourism business is preparing for a very difficult period - the crisis is leading the market to a collapse, which may result in the closure of 60-70% of the tourist enterprises throughout the country.

The coming winter may become a decisive stage in this process. According to the forecasts of RUTI, only about 30% of the companies that have received the support of the government will be able to survive it.

The rest can only “fall asleep”, suspending their activities for the winter season, or “die”, completely closing down and liquidating the business.

First of all, the situation with the closed borders remains unclear. Despite the fact that the authorities opened an opportunity for Russian citizens to visit Turkish resorts, and many tour operators even noted a growing demand for their products, the high season is gradually ending.

Winter is coming, which does not bring any joyful prospects. The announcement of a possible resumption of flights to Egypt and the UAE does not convince potential tourists to purchase tickets for this season. Experts expect massive bankruptcies among travel agencies, many of which may be completely closed for the winter.

Will the travel companies be able to minimize their costs in the face of the expected drop in demand? Experts note that it becomes more and more difficult for operators to plan and forecast the situation in the current conditions.

Most of the borders are still closed, and the trips to beach destinations are almost impracticable in winter.

The representative of RUTI Yuri Barzykin notes that those countries that are ready to welcome Russians in winter cannot provide conditions for mass arrivals. An important indicator of the psychological mood of customers is the depth of sales, which has been reduced to several months. The majority of Russians do not take the risks of buying tours in advance, as it was before.

We can still see how the booking companies and niche suppliers are leaving the market. However, with closed borders and a growing sense of uncertainty, the scope of the tragedy could be much larger. In this case, the situation with the refund of money from the agencies that start bankruptcy proceedings to their clients may become problematic. Applying to court and even having a positive court decision is unlikely to help in the situation of absence of any funds in the accounts of the companies.