Egypt has become the most popular foreign destination for family trips during the autumn school holidays, overtaking Turkey, according to analysts at ATOR. Thailand, China, Vietnam and the UAE are also in the top ranking, with demand for China growing fastest. The analytical material was prepared by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) and translated by Russian Travel Digest.
Russia’s main autumn school holidays fall in late October and early November. For schools using the quarter system, they are scheduled from October 26 to November 4. Schools with trimester and modular schedules may have different dates, but in Moscow, in many cases, the holiday window also falls approximately from October 24 to early November. This is traditionally one of the peak periods of autumn demand.
At Pegas Touristik, Anex, Russian Express, Intourist and other companies, sales for these dates are noticeably higher than for other fall periods. For many tour operators, trips between October 24 and November 4 account for up to 60% of all October bookings.
At the same time, sales of foreign tours for the school holidays are growing at approximately the same pace as outbound tourism this autumn overall — about 4%. According to Sletat.ru, the number of tour packages sold for holiday dates increased by 3% year on year, while Onlinetours.ru estimates growth at 3–5%.
According to the ATOR Analytical Service, based on statistics from tour operators and leading aggregators of package tours, as of early September the six most popular foreign destinations for the autumn holidays are:
- Egypt — 30%
- Turkey — 26%
- Thailand — 16%
- China — 8%
- Vietnam — 6%
- UAE — 5.5%
The foreign top 10 also includes the Maldives, Zanzibar, Belarus and Abkhazia. Late October and early November is the period when Egypt traditionally begins to overtake Turkey. In Turkey, the beach season is coming to an end, while the Red Sea resorts have comfortable weather for holidays.
For travelers without children, the same countries lead as for families with children. However, couples and solo travelers more often choose China, Vietnam and Thailand, according to PEGAS Touristik and Anex. One reason is that the average length of trips to these destinations does not always fit within the school holiday dates.
The number of bookings for tours to Egypt during the autumn holidays has increased by tens of percent among tour operators. And it is not only about the weather. “There are more and more comfortable hotels with developed infrastructure for holidays with children, and late October offers a large choice of convenient flights,” Anex notes. Intourist notes that some tourists choose Egypt instead of Turkey and the UAE for the holidays.
At the same time, the company expects demand for the Emirates to grow closer to the holidays. Russian Express expects the same development.
Growth is also being recorded for Vietnam. Turkey’s dynamics are much calmer: according to Sletat.ru, growth is about 2.5% year on year.
China has the highest dynamics. According to various tour operators, the number of bookings for holiday dates increased by 60–111% year on year. “Demand for China during the holidays has grown very strongly: we now have many special sightseeing tours visiting amusement parks for children; demand for Vietnam with beach holidays has also grown, and there has been good growth in foreign sea cruises,” Pacific Group notes.
Photo of Vietnam by Stanislav Beloglazov @beloglazov_travel
