Four Crimean cities made the top 10 list, including Yalta, Feodosia, Sudak and Yevpatoriya. The list also included four other cities on the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, among them Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzik and Yeysk. Other popular destinations included Kislovodsk, a city in southern Russia famous for its sanatoriums, and Zelenogradsk, a growingly popular resort destination located on the Baltic Sea in the exclave of Kaliningrad.
Commenting on the results of the study, Travel.ru communications director Yakov Sadchikov noted that "the most popular resorts among Russian families are Sochi, Anapa and Yalta, with the most affordable [in the top ten list] being Yeisk, Sudak and Yevpatoria. On average, vacationers with children heading to Russian resorts in the summer spend between 9-12 days and live on about 3,000 rubles a day [about $55 US], which is 60 percent less than they would spend abroad."
Among the top ten most popular international vacation destinations for Russians this year are Crete and Chalkidiki, Greece; Larnaka, Cyprus; Belek, Turkey, and Salou, Spain. Destinations in Belarus, Bulgaria and Egypt also made the list.
Sanctions, the falling purchasing power of the ruble, and a wave of patriotism have led to a sharp growth in domestic tourism in Russia over the past two years. Russia's federal tourism agency Rostourism has estimated that about 50 million Russians will spend their vacation time this year taking trips to destinations inside Russia. The agency notes that foreign tourism has declined by 30 percent since the beginning of the year, with internal tourism making up the difference. In addition to seaside resorts, popular destinations include cultural and gastronomic festivals, and visits to national parks.
