Are your bookings not looking good? Call in the Russians. New research shows they decide on their holiday destinations at the very last minute.
ITB Berlin researchers say that among all the world’s main travel markets, Russians are the most likely to book their holidays at the last minute. While booking one’s holidays at short notice is still a popular trend, it is strongest among Russian tourists. The analysis by IPK International says that Russians tend to decide less than a month before departing. This is the result of a special survey by IPK International’s World Travel Monitor, commissioned by ITB Berlin. Among the top ten international source markets for travel abroad (with at least one overnight) Russia reported the highest percentage of last-minute bookings. In 2012 Russians booked 73% of their trips at the last moment, less than one month before departing. The habit of booking trips late has always been popular in Russia. Over the past five years the trend towards booking travel at the last moment has remained unchanged and has hardly fluctuated at all.
Russia has quickly become the fourth largest source market for tourism in the Dominican Republic, after the US, Canada and France. Russian tourism was up 35% last year, with around 164,000 new arrivals. The number of Russian travelers to the DR could reach one million by the end of this year.
Most Russian tourists travelling abroad are upper-middle class, and therefore the typical Russian tourist with high purchasing power. Statistics also show that Russian tourists are mostly aged between 25 and 45.