Uzbekistan becomes one of most popular destination for Russian travelers in “velvet” season

When planning foreign trips in September-October, Russians are increasingly paying attention to Central Asia, Kommersant reports.

Turkey is still the most popular destination for the “velvet season” – it accounted for 56% of tour sales through Travelata.ru and 42% through Sletat.ru, Yandex Travel, which take into account self-bookings, give a figure of 24.56%.

Demand has grown in absolute terms by 2022, but its share of total trips has declined. Experts name one of the main reasons for the growth of expenses against the backdrop of the weakening of the ruble against the dollar. Also mentioned among the factors were the February large earthquakes and forest fires in the summer.

According to Yandex Travel, the largest share of bookings for autumn after Turkey fell on Armenia – 9.4%, Uzbekistan took the third place – 7.99%. Azerbaijan (6.3%), Kazakhstan (5.6%), Israel and Thailand (4.6%) follow.

A return ticket for flights to Uzbekistan costs an average of 27.5 thousand rubles (~$295) – this is one of the lowest rates among the most popular countries among Russian travelers. At the same time, compared to last year, it has risen in price by a quarter.

For comparison, a flight to the most affordable country – Kyrgyzstan has risen in price by 41%, to 23.8 thousand rubles ($256). The average price of tickets to Kazakhstan amounted to 30.7 thousand rubles ($330, +28%), and a flight to Turkey became a little cheaper – 35.75 thousand rubles ($384).

Also, Uzbek hotels are still relatively affordable. According to Ostrovok.ru, hotel accommodation in September-October costs an average of 5,000 rubles ($53.7) – at the level of Georgia and slightly more expensive than Thailand (4.2 thousand rubles, $45.1) or Belarus (4.5 thousand rubles, $48.3).

At the same time, accommodation in a hotel has risen in price by about 50%. Turkish hotels increased in price by 47% (up to 9 thousand rubles or $96.7), Georgian and Thai – by 40%.