The world recession has been particularly hard on Russia’s tourism industry. Recently, many Russian destinations becoming more accessible to foreigners and many Russians had been traveling more due to higher incomes spawning rapid growth. The sharp contraction has bankrupted many enterprises that had invested and borrowed heavily to accomodate the rapid growth.

A key indicator for tourism, the passenger flow at airports, shows a depressing picture for the industry. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, for example, has seen 10.3 per cent fewer passengers compared to last year, while the situation in regional airports is even worse.

And across the country, international flights over the first seven months of the year were 16.5 per cent down compared to the same period last year, while domestic flights were down 17.3 per cent. Changes in seat occupancy were minimal, however - airlines cut back on flights to keep seat occupancy above 70 per cent.

Industry players insist, however, that things aren’t as bad as they feared, as discounts by hotels have cut the costs for tourists.

“Earlier this year, the mood in the industry was disturbed and even apocalyptic,” said Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Russian Tour Operators Association.

Hotels had lowered their prices by 30 per cent or 40 per cent, she said.

“Prices in tours to popular destinations fell by an average of 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Although the price drop was not very significant in roubles, these prices still proved attractive for Russian holidaymakers,” she said. (Moscow News)

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The next adventure for RTs Wayfarer Mark Ames takes place in Rostov-on-Don. He gets acquainted with some Russian Cossacks, visits the famous Rosselmash machine plant and celebrates Halloween as a vampire!

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In the next series Mark Ames travels to Ekaterinburg, the historic and economic centre of the Urals. It was founded in 1723 by Tsar Peter the Great and named after his wife, Catherine. The last Russian Tsar Nicolas II and his family were assassinated there by the Bolsheviks on July 16, 1918. In Ekaterinburg, Mark visits strange monuments and sculpture exhibition. He also gets inside a film production company where he tries to apply for a job. Also, Mark attends a rock festival, as the city is considered to be the capital of Russian rock-music.

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Pavlosk Palace was a summer residence near Saint Petersburg for the Russian  Royal Family.  If you are visiting Saint Petersburg it’s worth the short trip to visit. The Pavlovsk palace is probably the best preserved of Russian imperial residences outside the capital. The sumptuous neoclassical interior of the palace was faithfully restored after the great fire in 1803. The damage sustained by the palace during the German occupation in 1941–1943, though considerable, was not so devastating as in the case of Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo.

For more photographs and history visit the Pavlovsk Palace site.

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The need for a visa all but eliminates spontaneous travel to Russia and often discourages those who plan well in advance. A recent change allows cruise passengers to dismbark in some Russian ports without a visa. According to Russia IC, this will also allow cruise passengers to stay in St. Petersburg:

Foreign residents visiting Russia on the board of cruise ships with tourist targets are allowed to stay in Russia without visa, but the duration of such a stay is not yet précised. The most probable schedule is forty-eight hours; so long the cruisers stay in St. Petersburg.

This measure is oriented to the tourists having a wish to visit Russia, but not only St. Petersburg. During these two days they could visit Moscow with excursion or maybe some other towns and places. The visa abolition agreement is supposed to increase the amount of foreign tourists choosing cruises with calling at Russian ports. (Russia IC)

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Russia Today’s Mark Ames heads to St.Petersburg this weekend, to show you what makes this city so special. In his own inimitable way, Ames gets to the root of things with a mixture of humor and insight.

This is the second part of his visit to the city and the focus this time is on cultural life.

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