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Online bookings from Russia for luxury hotels increase 167% as Russian tourism abroad has grown by over 13%

According to the UNWTO report for 2017, tourism from Russia to the world has grown by 13% and continues growing in 2018. Online bookings for luxury hotels in the 4 and 5-star categories has grown, with an increase of up to 167% and beyond this for the summer of 2018, as noted by digital marketing manager Giulio Gargiullo, an expert on the Russian online market and the luxury sector.

ROME – Russian tourism to Europe and to the world grew by 13% in 2017 according to UNWTO – World Tourism Organization – and will continue to grow throughout 2018. The Russian Federation has leaped into 8th place in the top 10 list of international spenders. As a result, online bookings have increased for 4 or 5-star hotels or those in the premium luxury category as reported by Yandex, and this has been highlighted by digital marketing manager Giulio Gargiullo, an expert in the Russian online market and luxury sector.

Gargiullo explains, "Thanks to the economic recovery of the Russian Federation with the stabilisation of the rouble in 2017, the Russians have begun to travel in Europe and around the world again and average receipts for holidays has increased considerably, both for hotel bookings and for Tax-Free Shopping. According to UNWTO, Russian travellers spent 31 billion dollars worldwide last year. In 2018, therefore, and especially this coming summer, we will witness a boom in Russian tourism abroad".

"As we can see from the chart I created using Yandex data, demand for 4 and 5-star hotels has increased during the last few months and will continue to do so. As one can see, online searches for luxury hotels increased significantly in 2017 (note the increase in searches between July 2016 and July 2017). One can also see how online bookings will increase even more in 2018, thus announcing an even greater presence of Russians in the world with a boom in the summer".

Giulio Gargiullo, a digital marketing manager specialised in the Russian online market and luxury sector, explains it thus: "In order to receive online bookings from Russians directly on the website of the hotel or tourist establishment, it is not only essential to have a website in Russian. The site needs to be localised with images, texts and various types of media content suited to the Russian mentality. Then you need to start online marketing campaigns on Yandex, the main Russian search engine, or on VK, the most popular Russian social network, or by means of digital PR activities, with an ad hoc digital marketing plan for the hotel or tourist establishment. It is therefore essential to communicate online directly and in the right way with Russian customers. It is about anticipating their wishes in a pleasant manner. If, on one hand, Russian travellers are very demanding, on the other, this is a great opportunity that allows the hotel and its pluses to be appreciated right from the moment of the online booking".

"The chart shows the number of searches carried out by Russians on Yandex, the main Russian search engine, for luxury hotels in the 4 or 5-star category. In the 5-star category, we witness a percentage increase in online searches of 167.4% between July 2016 and July 2017 with 337,700 online searches. An even greater increase is expected in the coming months, peaking in July 2018".

"Similarly, in the 4-star category, 107,607 online searches were carried out in July 2016 and 193,997 in July 2017 showing a percentage increase of 80.3%, and there is even greater growth in searches and online bookings for 2018 with the maximum peak occurring during the month of July".

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Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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