St-Petersburg: Calypso Travel, one is the leading TOs in St-Petersburg, stated that it was little decrease in demand for FIT travel this year, but that the length the trip and frequency have reduced. There are also more last minute bookings. Turkey and Egypt remain the most popular destinations, and there is a good demand for Bulgaria. One of the market leaders of St-Petersburg origin - Neva, which mainly focuses on cheaper mass market destinations, reported a good demand for resort holidays destinations except for Spain, where there was a slight reduction in demand. However they noticed a slower demand than last year in August and September.
Tez Tour saw a reduced in volumes from St-Petersburg by 20% this summer, while the Russian Association of Tour Operators (RATA) noted a general reduction of 15-30% on last year, with a reference for less expensive and more budget packages. Tours costing over $3,000 per person are still sold and less affected than mass market options. Nevertheless clients travel less frequently than previously. For the packages costing from $1,000-$3,000 per person the demand is down by up to 30%. According to RATA the most popular summer destinations for St-Petersburg this summer were: Egypt, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. There are few new destinations on the market this year, as TO's are not willing to take risks in difficult financial times.
Kazan: the capital of the Russian autonomous Republic of Tatarstan noted a 30-40% decrease in outbound traffic. The Director of Persona Grata, one of the leading tour operators in Kazan, noted that apart from the general economic slowdown there was a substantial reduction in direct flights from Kazan to Europe, caused by the closure of airlines such as KD Avia, which resulted in a slump in demand. In 2008 KD Avia had direct flights to all the leading European city destinations. However Turkish Airlines have kept its direct flights to Kazan. During the coming winter season, Kazan expects a fewer direct charter flights due to the lack of demand, and more last minute bookings to visa free countries.