The right time: the demand for New Year's tours has already doubled
The volume of bookings for winter holidays has doubled compared to the same period in 2024, the services told Izvestia. Turkey, the UAE and Thailand have become some of the most popular outdoor holiday destinations. Within the country, tourists plan to visit, for example, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Karelia. The increase in demand is due to the desire of Russians to save on flights and accommodation, experts say.
Where will Russians fly to during the New Year holidays
The number of holiday requests during the New Year holidays has doubled compared to 2024, several flight and accommodation booking services told Izvestia.
So, according to "Fly.<url>", the level of demand for holidays with arrivals from December 31 to January 10, 2026 during the New Year holidays is almost twice as high as the same figures last year. They noted an increase in the volume of applications for travel to Thailand — by 63.8%, to the Maldives — by almost 27%.
The demand for tours to Vietnam has increased almost fivefold, to Egypt — 3.3 times, to the UAE — 2.2 times. The popularity of Armenia, India, Qatar, Malaysia, Mauritius and the Philippines also began to grow.
At the same time, according to the OneTwoTrip travel planning service, interest in trips to Azerbaijan and France began to decline.
In the top destinations within the framework of domestic tourism, according to "Fly.<url>", Karelia, the North Caucasus, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Baikal and Altai entered. Tours to the Homeland of Santa Claus, Veliky Ustyug, are also being sold out.
Yandex Travel, a service for booking tickets, hotels and tours, clarified that Karachay-Cherkessia has joined the popular Russian destinations this year. Sochi was also in the top, the Tutu travel service added. This city accounted for 40% of bookings. And according to OneTwoTrip, trips to Kaliningrad and Kazan are especially popular during the New Year holidays, but interest in Yekaterinburg, which was in the top last year, began to fade. According to the online hotel and apartment booking service Ostrovok, 73% of housing reserves for this period are in Murmansk. Nizhny Novgorod and Kislovodsk are also popular.
The record growth in early booking was also announced by analysts of the travel marketplace. YouTravel.me However, they estimated it at 35% compared to September last year.
"At the same time, the directions offering a unique cultural experience and ethnic authenticity show the greatest dynamics," the company said. — There is an unprecedented interest in tours to the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. The direction of Saudi Arabia, with its ancient monuments and modern megacities, shows an increase of 30%. Combined tours, including visits to historical sites and desert safaris, are popular."
How tours change
Tourists began booking trips for the New Year holidays much earlier, the Tutu travel service said.
"If last year we started buying tours for the New Year in September, then this year it's already in May and June," Emil Ziyadinov, director of partner network Development at the service, told Izvestia.
According to him, this year travelers are choosing foreign destinations a little more often.
— Interest in the UAE has grown. We also expect an increase in demand for tours to China.: This trend will be supported by the visa—free regime," he added.
Yandex Travel noted that the demand for travel to Vietnam increased by 2%. And Ostrovka noted a twofold increase in housing prices in Kazakhstan and Armenia. There was also a noticeable increase in demand for accommodation during the New Year holidays in Georgia — by 51%, in Turkey — by 40% and in Belarus — by 22%.
Almost 70% of all air orders come from other countries, which is 45% higher than in the previous year's period, OneTwoTrip told Izvestia.
"If we talk about the number of travelers, then three times as many Russians will go to other countries," said Elena Shelekhova, head of the service's press service.
And inside the country, according to her, 35% more tourists will travel for the upcoming holidays.
The average length of stay abroad has not changed and is nine nights, while inside the country it has become one night less.
Why is the booking depth increasing?
Russians book tours, tickets and accommodation in advance for the New Year holidays, as they fear that otherwise they will have nowhere to stay during the winter holidays, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia, told Izvestia.
"This is rational, first of all, in relation to ski resorts, which are in high demand," he said.
According to him, the most popular ski resorts are in the Kemerovo Region, Krasnodar Territory, and the North Caucasus. Among them, for example, Krasnaya Polyana, Sheregesh and Arkhyz.
Despite the high demand in winter, there is an acute shortage of hotels, the expert stressed. It is also necessary to book accommodation in advance for this period in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, he added.
— At the same time, there is no need to book destinations where it is low season during the New Year holidays, — said Aleksan Mkrtchyan.
Among such areas, according to the expert, for example, Anapa, Feodosia, Tambov and Lipetsk regions.
The second reason for early bookings is the fear that ticket and accommodation prices will rise, the expert added.
— And they are quite justified. For example, the cost of a hotel in Krasnaya Polyana with check—in on January 2 in June was 10 thousand rubles per day, now it has already increased to 14 thousand rubles, and in November it will rise to 20 thousand," emphasized Aleksan Mkrtchyan.
Also, according to him, in June-July 2025, business class tickets to Thailand and back cost 300 thousand rubles, and now — 500 thousand.
The average check for tours to Thailand increased by almost 10% compared to the same indicators in 2024 and now stands at 235.8 thousand rubles, in the UAE — by 24.2%, to 249.3 thousand rubles, in Russia — by almost 12% (to 70.3 thousand rubles).
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
