As part of a new stage of the program launched by Rostourism on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, participants in the tourism market note an increase in sales of tours with cashback to St. Petersburg.
According to data provided by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia ( ATOR), in the first week of the action, since March 15, the city on the Neva took third place (after the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory and Caucasian Mineralnye Vody) among the most popular cashback sales destinations.
242 hotels and 102 tour operators have become partners of the current stage of the program, sanatoriums and cruise companies from St. Petersburg are also participating. The official portal of worldtravel.rf offers 239 different package tourist programs with cashback in St. Petersburg. Offers include both classic tours of St. Petersburg, as well as objects of the “New Cultural and Tourist Geography”, author's thematic programs and much more. In total, over 500 tourist organizations in Russia currently offer trips to the Northern capital with cashback.
The St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee provides informational support to the cashback program with all available tools. In particular, it organizes road shows in major cities of Russia, places advertising and promotional materials. A material about the “New Cultural and Tourist Geography” of the Northern Capital has been prepared for the current issue of National Geographic Traveler. Content for tourists planning a trip to St. Petersburg is updated daily on the official city portal of Visit Petersburg.
Note that demand for the end of March and the beginning of April is stimulated by the school holidays and ranges from 20% to 35% of all sales in cashback promotions.
Recall that sales of tours with cashback will last until May 1. You can go on a trip, including cruises, from March 15 to July 1. The program includes trips and hotel accommodation lasting from two nights. The tourist product must be paid for with the Mir card, within five days 20% of the cost of the trip, a maximum of 20 thousand rubles, will be returned to it. The number of trips per person under the program is not limited.
Comments from industry experts
ATOR Executive Director Maya Lomidze: “As in all past promotions, the Krasnodar Territory remains the leader in terms of the number of bookings (now it is mainly Sochi with an open airport) – it accounts for 50% to 80% of all bookings for the promotion for various tour operators. In second place among all the surveyed players are the sanatoriums of Kavminvod with a share of 15-20%. Recall that the airports of Mineralnye Vody and Stavropol are also open. The third place, if we take the aggregate data of tour operators, is shared by the Moscow region and St. Petersburg (from 5 to 15% for each direction from different players). Kirill Sokolov: “The growth in sales of tours to St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region in the first week of the cashback promotion increased by 114% compared to the previous week. Of the applications from March 15, cashback for March-April (the nearest dates) accounts for 35% of bookings, for May holidays – 15%, for May (after May) and June – 50%.
Maria Ushakova, General Director of Art Travel Company: “Petersburg is being sold actively within the framework of cashback. Renewed interest in programs for schoolchildren after the removal of restrictions on visits to museums for organized children's groups. The depth of sales is not very large yet: March – April. At the same time, St. Petersburg, as in the previous stages of cashback, remains one of the most popular and affordable destinations, so in terms of sales, we are optimistic. Of the new trends, we note that due to the departure of international booking systems, hotels have turned to tour operators and began to work with tour operators as a sales channel. The range of tours with the offer of various hotels is increasing.”