Travel to the ends of the earth: why Russian tourists choose Primorye

More than 3.5 million trips were made in Primorye in 2023, of which more than 1.5 million are guests from other regions of Russia. The task of the Government now is to invest all efforts in the development of domestic tourism, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, opening the Tourism Day at VDNKh. Primorye also presented its achievements at the exhibition. The head of the Primorsky Territory Tourism Agency Arseniy Krepsky told more about the results and prospects. 

— Arseniy Petrovich, let’s start with the results of last year. How many tourists have come to us, and what are their most popular: beach holidays, gastrotourism, hiking in the mountains? I'll allow myself to correct you. The phrase “how many tourists came to us” does not quite correctly reflect the situation in the tourism industry of Primorsky Krai, because local residents also travel in their region, and this directly affects tourism, both on the attractiveness of the region and on the profitability of the industry. We expect to confirm our figures by March with Rosstat data that about 3.5 million tourist trips were made in Primorye last year. Of these, about 1.7-1.9 million are those tourists who came to us from other regions, and the rest are citizens who did not take their money somewhere, but spent it in their region on the development of tourism. Where do you live?

Yeah. It is clear that if you live in Vladivostok and went somewhere to swim in the evening, it is difficult to call tourism from the point of view of the economy, but if you went to Livadia or even Andreevka, it is directly a contribution to the tourism industry. And if you take other regions where people come from, did you look? We did, of course. And here we have a positive trend: every year more and more people come to us from other regions, every year the share of those who come from the European part of Russia increases. We are becoming popular in Moscow, St. Petersburg and even in the southern regions. It can't be.

But it's a fact. If you look at last year: the direct Sochi flight, which opens in the summer, was more filled with passengers here than from here. How do you explain that?

There is a certain amount of logistics here, because the Sochi airport is now the main hub in the south. People, conditionally, from Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov, Krasnodar, fly to us through Sochi. They used to fly through Moscow or their airports, but now they have this channel. It's in demand and used. People who have been everywhere in Russia or in the European part of the country have a need to fly to the Far East. And here our Primorsky Krai and Vladivostok, of course, is, I will not say - the most attractive, so as not to offend anyone, but - one of the most attractive. 

- VTSIOM has compiled a list of criteria that affect successful holidays inside the country: in the first place - nature and climate, for 27% of respondents it is a determining factor. And the increase in this criterion was 8 percentage points over the past year. As for Primorye: nature is wonderful, but the climate ... Our climate, in fact, tourists do not cause any complaints, if they do not fall into the situation that was in Andreyevka last summer, when there was an emergency: there was limited travel, and then, of course, there was a certain negative. But otherwise... You see, it is for us, the locals, the seaside rains and fogs have already become weary, and someone goes specifically to climb the same Pidan and look at the clouds from above. After all, we usually look at the clouds from below, and here you can look at them from above. It's very impressive, it's very beautiful. But I still believe that safety, service and comfort should come first, but nature should come first. Security is in fourth place. The second is quality of service, the third is positive emotion, and the fourth is security. But this concept also included urban improvement, an atmosphere of calm and transport infrastructure. I think it’s because every region is different. Tourists in Moscow, most likely, in principle do not pay attention to transport. It is there, people somehow move around the city, it is comfortable there. We have in order to move from Vladivostok to the sea coast – and this, by the way, for tourists from the European part – the main format of recreation: 2-3 days in Vladivostok and 5-7 days in nature, at sea – here, sorry, logistics will play an important role. Let’s talk more about how tourism infrastructure is developing. Now Primorye has set a course for the development of all-season tourism, which means that we need to invest even more in the development of infrastructure. That's right. The fact is that people, such creatures, they want to rest all year round. For some, work does not allow you to go on vacation in the summer, but this does not mean that the winter season for tourism is lost if you do not have, say, skiing. Our project in Arsenyev is actively developing, and when it is fully operational, it is clear that we will become more attractive for the target segment of those people who skate. But winter is not only skiing, it is up to diving. Few people know that we have year-round diving in Primorye. You can dive at any time of the year, and believe me, in winter it is no less beautiful and no less interesting. But a lot rests on the infrastructure, primarily in accommodation facilities. In summer, our seaside is replete with seasonal recreation centers and mini-hotels, but in winter they close and the segment collapses significantly. But people even in winter are ready to go to the sea to relax with a beautiful view, just sit by candlelight with your beloved girl. It seems to me that few Russians have seen the frozen sea. For the South, for example, it is generally nonsense. Yes, that is why our ice half marathon, which will take place soon, is always in great demand. We all remember Korean tourists who just went out on the ice of the Amur Bay and took pictures in groups. For many tourists, this is even part of the symbolism of our city, we have seen it on social networks - many are attracted to the frozen sea. But I repeat, now the main bet is on the development of the number fund: both business and the state are making efforts to make it year-round and increase in number. Is the bet being made, and are any concrete steps being taken? Will these be investment projects? Whose money is that?

It'll be different money. Of course, the main means are business. Anyone who wants to make money invests. But, in addition, we have a lot of support measures, which, especially recently, thanks to the national project "Tourism and hospitality industry" enter our lives. In 2022-2023, we implemented support measures to create modular hotels. Not everything worked out, but what happened was 100% correct. On the same beloved Shamore appeared capital comfortable rooms, and not in the format of high-rise buildings or buildings of some, but in the format of detached houses for one, two or three families, where you can relax secludedly, but in fact - in the city. The same hotels appeared in the Khasan district, in Nakhodka and in the Lazovsky district. The industry is evolving. This support measure will continue. The Governor of Primorsky Krai gave us a task to carefully select projects so that they were really interested people who want and can independently implement their projects, just with our help they will make it better and faster. This is our main bet, not on those who come to us with an outstretched hand. Another interesting thing to read is what a portrait of a typical traveler looks like. He was also compiled by VCIOM. More often in Russia travel women aged 35-59 years with unfinished higher or higher education, good financial situation. As a rule, these are residents of the metropolis and active Internet users. How do you feel about this?

This is a very average portrait because we have a very large and diverse country. I understand that a huge stream of residents of the metropolis every weekend leaves the city and spends one or two nights somewhere in the vicinity, within a radius of 200-300 km. But there are completely different tourists coming to us. I mean, you're not coming to Primorye for the weekend. It just doesn't make sense. We're flying for a week at least. Mostly those who are already a lot, where have been, those who have high requirements for service, and, most importantly, the impressions that you can get here. If your favorite type of vacation is a dacha, it is unlikely that you will fall off and fly to the Far East. And if you have seen a lot and want a new one, welcome to Primorye. We can provide any type of recreation, for every taste, from sports fishing and mountaineering to cultural and educational tourism. After all, we have a huge cultural and historical heritage, patriotic tourism, not to mention gastronomy. There are no volcanoes.

If you compare the tourism industry of Primorsky Krai 20-30 years ago and now, how much has it changed? She didn't change, she showed up. If you take a 20-year period, it's like heaven and earth. We have an industry in terms of economics. This is a system of economic relations, which includes not only tourism, but also logistics, retail trade, training, and visa issues. Primorsky Krai is one of those regions where many foreign consulates are concentrated. This is important for those who go abroad, from here you can even go to the DPRK. That's an important indicator, I think. By the way, the first group that returned from the DPRK, half consisted of those tourists who came to us from other regions, along the way saw Vladivostok, stayed with us, spent money, and then flew on. Speaking of spending. For example, I am a tourist, for the first time in Primorye, I have 30 thousand rubles. What to see first and foremost so that you have a good first impression? Do you already have a hotel?

Yeah. I need bread and circuses.

Well, then “bread” is Vladivostok, because after all, gastronomy, restaurants of Vladivostok are a separate type of travel. You have to go somewhere in nature. The easiest way is to go to Russky Island, Cape Tobizina or Botsad. It will cost you less than 30 thousand rubles. You can even just take a taxi to the Russian island, and immediately get to another environment, get to the edge of the earth. This is a journey for which people are very often willing to shell out huge amounts of money, because such impressions in the country and in the near suburbs you just will not find. If we talk about the near future, what will travelers see in Primorye in 5-6 years? What will change?

We will definitely work on improving the urban environment, which I am sure will eventually include transport. This is about Vladivostok and inter-municipal transportation. And the guests, I hope, will actually see the same thing, because our wonderful nature is not going anywhere. I hope that within the next 10 years the Vladivostok Fortress will be transformed and become a truly tourist attraction. And most importantly, and this task we set for ourselves primarily until 2031, we will try to increase the number of rooms, adding about 10 thousand rooms.

Material and photos provided by RBC+.