Socio-demographic portrait of Russian travelers

Abstract

Purpose Focuses on the social and demographic features of inbound and outbound Russian travelers, in particular, on target groups of travelers and the challenges they face in Russia. Design/methodology/approach Draws on analysis of Synovate Comcon Russian Target Group Index and TNS Marketing Index databases, Rosstat data, expert round table discussion with author participation and observation and interviews in tourist-related sites during 2014-2015. Findings The most important factors for domestic tourism are family status, employment, income and education. Demographic target groups for internal tourism in Russia include: low-income retired persons; groups of students; working qualified experts and family travelers. The most important factors affecting external travel are region of residence, the size of the city and income status. Political challenges (including the closure of Russians of destinations in Egypt and Turkey) tend to reinforce economic crisis and national currency depreciation. Nevertheless, forecasts of industry development predict a slow recovery over the next few years up to 2019. Originality/value Outlines the demographic and social target groups of inbound and outbound Russian travelers described in the context of new circumstances in Russia. This information could be used by practitioners to develop travel and tourist packages for Russian tourists.

The main trends, challenges and success factors in the Russian hospitality and tourism market

“…• Tambovtsev (2016) attempted to reveal institutional restrains impeding tourism development and to create a theoretical basis for institutional WHATT 8,3 development that could provide positive tourist experience production in emerging markets; • Kalabikhina and Shishalov (2016) examined more precisely the socio-demographic portrait of Russians engaged in travelling both in Russia and abroad; • Kazakov (2016) shed light on the market orientation concept and the implementation influence on company business performance in a local service industry on emerging market; • the articles by Sheresheva et al (2016) and Oyner and Korelina (2016) are focused on Russian hospitality challenges and opportunities in more complicated environments, examining the general market situation, the strategy of international and local operators and new forms of customer engagement in value co-creation, leading to better customer satisfaction; • the articles by Aleksandrova and Vladimirov (2016) and Polukhina (2016) are dedicated to the problems associated with boosting tourism cluster development and network interaction in Russian regions, including requirements for state support of cluster initiatives in the field of tourism. A number of cases are provided to illustrate and analyze perspectives of clustering and networking in the Russian hospitality and tourism market; and • finally, Merzlov and Karpov (2016) present a case of the association of the most beautiful villages of Russia and assess the experience economy approach as a base for successful association development.…”

Characteristics of business, pleasure, and VFR segments who travel during risky times

“…First, except for marital status and having children in the household, there were no statistically significant differences in the demographic characteristics among business, pleasure, and VFR travelers who participated in this study. Although some demographic characteristics such as family status, employment, income and education were linked in previous research to travel behavior (Aziz et al , 2018; Kalabikhina and Shishalov, 2016), these studies were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. We can conclude that during chaotic times, demographic characteristics may not be significant predictors of travel activity.…”

“…Some studies looked at the sociodemographics of certain traveler segments such as business, pleasure and VFR travelers. For example, Kalabikhina and Shishalov (2016) found that the most important predictors for Russian domestic tourism were family status, employment, income and education. The most important factors affecting Russian tourists' outbound international travel were their region of residence, the size of their city and income status.…”

Sociodemographic relationships of motivations, satisfaction, and loyalty in religious tourism: A study of the pilgrimage to the city Mecca

“…Previous studies found that religious tourists’ motivation can be influenced by three other factors: socio-demographic characteristics, satisfaction, and loyalty. First, tourism socio-demographic aspects of are tourists’ properties or attributes of such as gender, age, educational level, job, income, region, and nationality [ 3 , 10 ]. It is crucial to study those aspects because of their role in explaining the differences in tourists’ lifestyles and travel motivations hand and their impact on the tourists’ demand and tourism services [ 10 – 12 ].…”

“…First, tourism socio-demographic aspects of are tourists’ properties or attributes of such as gender, age, educational level, job, income, region, and nationality [ 3 , 10 ]. It is crucial to study those aspects because of their role in explaining the differences in tourists’ lifestyles and travel motivations hand and their impact on the tourists’ demand and tourism services [ 10 – 12 ]. The socio-demographic characteristics of tourists were also found to have a significant impact on families’ travel plan, behaviour, and expenditures [ 13 ].…”