The fuel shortage has hit domestic tourism in Russia
The fuel crisis in Russia has had a negative impact on domestic tourism. According to figures for June, the number of organized domestic tours fell by 4.8% year-over-year, said Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Union of the Tourism Industry.
According to TravelLine, the number of hotel reservations in June fell by 16% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the Association of Russian Tour Operators recorded an 8.8 percentage point decline in the share of domestic package tour sales in July, down to 9.6%.
The sharpest drop in demand is being observed in traditionally popular tourist regions. According to CMWP, the number of bookings in Moscow in late June and early July decreased by approximately 15% year-over-year, in the Krasnodar Krai by 25%, and in the Rostov Oblast by 30%.
A source at a major hotel operator, speaking to the Russian newspaper *Izvestia*, stated that the number of booking cancellations rose sharply in the last week of June. According to him, Russians are afraid to travel even to the Moscow suburbs due to the risk of running out of fuel on the road.
As a reminder, the fuel crisis in Russia is worsening: gasoline is running out at gas stations and lines are growing longer.
Russia has allowed the use of lower-quality gasoline due to the fuel crisis.
