Let's check the main travel trends of 2020:
1. Back to nature: glampings, farms and national parks
Glamping is a kind of compromise between outdoor recreation and urban comfort. Glampings continue to conquer the regions of Russia. Today they can be found in the Moscow region and the Tula region, in Karelia and in Altai, in the Murmansk region and in Kamchatka, on the shores of the Black Sea and on Lake Baikal.
Agritourism is another popular destination for the naturally hungry city dweller. You can live on a real farm, ride a horse through the endless fields, walk through the local forests, remember the taste of cow's milk and taste vegetables grown in the local garden. And numerous farms throughout Russia are ready to offer this experience: picking strawberries in the garden and learning how to make cheese.
National parks are no longer endless unexplored territories, where tourists go at their own risk. There are eco-trails of various difficulty levels for walking, nature museums, eco-lodges for a comfortable stay, cafes with hot food, and organized excursions around the area. In addition to Baikal and Altai, more exotic destinations are actively developing - national parks of the North Caucasus and Primorye, as well as remote corners of Russia like the Putoransky Nature Reserve, Kamchatka or islands in the Okhotsk and Bering Seas.
2. Sports tourism
For a long time, it was believed that Russia is not a place for sports recreation. The climate is not the same, the infrastructure is not developed. Perhaps the only more or less mastered sport was hiking in the mountains and kayaking, but even here many dangers and uncertainties awaited.
Now there are many world-class ski resorts in various parts of the country - and it became clear that it is not at all necessary to book a chalet in the Alps six months in advance. It turned out that surfing is possible not only on the west coast of the United States or in Australia, but also in the Crimea, the Far East and even in the Barents Sea beyond the Arctic Circle. For diving, you do not need to fly to Egypt - for this there is the Black Sea and the Sea of Japan, as well as numerous lakes.
3. Staycation
You can feel the taste of travel and have a great vacation without leaving your city. New discovery - no need to travel far to relax. It is enough to change the optics: stay in your hometown, but live in an unusual environment in a hotel, feel like a tourist, discover new places and areas. If you decide to go out of town, spend the weekend not at the dacha, but in a spa hotel, explore unfamiliar corners of the Moscow region. Staycation is more relevant than ever now, during a pandemic, when staying at home is the safest option, but you want to travel.
Author: Anna Dorozhkina