Alternative vacation: where to go in the age of COVID

Where to go and what to see in the northern regions of RUSSIA, as well as what restrictions apply there - in the review of RBC Petersburg

The summer tourist season in 2021 is taking place under conditions of restrictions due to a sharp deterioration in the epidemiological situation in the country. The "third wave" of CORONAVIRUS covered the Russian regions in the midst of summer. In this regard, local officials began to seriously tighten the "antique" restrictions in the field of tourism. For many Russians, deprived of the opportunity to go on holiday abroad and reoriented to domestic tourism, this was an unpleasant surprise. So, despite the fact that no restrictions were imposed on the Russians at the federal level, many governors require a vaccination certificate or an analysis for covid-19 from guests .

Between south and north

A particularly difficult situation has developed in the Krasnodar Territory. Tough “anti-currency measures” introduced in the region have led to an almost complete halt in bookings. According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), in August hotels and sanatoriums of the Krasnodar Territory will be loaded only by 30-40%. ATOR experts record a drop in interest in Crimea (by about 20%), where restrictions mainly apply to local residents, but tourists, in anticipation of tougher measures, are in no hurry to book tours to the Black Sea coast.

The “anti-covid” regime also hit tourism in the Northwest. “Almost all cancellations in the northwestern regions are also associated with COVID-19 restrictions,” Ekaterina Shadskaya, DIRECTOR of the Northwestern regional branch of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry, told RBC Petersburg. “Traveling around the Northwest in the context of coronavirus restrictions is extremely difficult, primarily because the situation is unstable, changes occur almost daily, and at the time of booking it is impossible to predict the conditions under which guests will be accommodated in hotels and admission of visitors to museums,” explained Shadskaya. - At the moment, the most accessible regions for visiting are Arkhangelsk, Tver, Vologda, Novgorod, Leningrad region. The most difficult thing now is to work with Karelia, as well as with the Murmansk, Kaliningrad and Pskov regions.”

However, the HEAD of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Travel Industry noted that there is a demand for tours in the northern territories - the lack of the opportunity to visit foreign destinations familiar to many tourists with similar natural conditions (the Baltic States, Finland, Scandinavia) affects. In the top this year are trips to Karelia, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad. The average cost of a weekend tour in the North-West, according to Ekaterina Shadskaya, is 7-8 thousand rubles per person, for tours lasting 5-7 days - about 30 thousand rubles.