Families with kids planning their summer vacation spots and estimating their expenses.
Families with Children to Holiday predominantly in St. Petersburg and Moscow
According to data from VTB and Tutu, this summer, families with children will predominantly spend their holidays in either St. Petersburg (20%) or Moscow (12%). Other popular destinations include Sochi (11%), Adler (4%), Kazan, and Kaliningrad (3% each), with Gelendzhik, Sirius, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok (2% each) also being favored.
In terms of accommodation, star ratings are not the primary concern for parents, with 54% of bookings in Russia and 42% abroad being for hotels without stars. Instead, parents prioritize non-smoking rooms (34%), family rooms (29%), and access to washing and drying machines (26%). Other important factors include proximity to cafes (23%), children's playgrounds (18%), soundproofing (8%), and game rooms (7%).
Yury Vyushin, Director of Hotel Market Development at Tutu, noted that there has been an increase in demand for hotels with 'family-friendly' infrastructure, such as playgrounds, kids' menus, and game zones. The average cost per night for a family of three this summer will be 7,000 rubles. The cheapest destinations are Mordovia, Kamchatka Krai, Tyumen and Kirov regions, and Smolensk region, all of which are experiencing a significant decrease in costs compared to last year.
Children are not only traveling with their parents but are also increasingly using their bank cards independently. In the first five months of this year alone, VTB clients spent over 15 billion rubles using their children's cards, a fivefold increase from last year. They made over 39 million purchases, with an average check of 383 rubles, and experts predict that this trend will continue, with the most popular categories of spending remaining largely unchanged.
The most active users of children's cards live in Moscow, Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and Novosibirsk region. According to Rostislav Yanikin, head of the transactional retail business department and senior vice president of VTB, summer holidays provide children with opportunities to become more independent and improve their financial literacy.
It's worth mentioning that 77% of parents in a general context intend to use savings for their child's education, though the data does not specify the source of these savings or their application within the Russian context. For more precise information on Russian parental spending, additional research or data from Russian sources would be necessary.
Families may also consider using their savings from travel experiences in St. Petersburg and Moscow towards educational-and-self-development opportunities for their children. Moreover, as children increasingly use their bank cards independently, the lifestyle sector, including travel and leisure, could see an increase in independent spending by minors, particularly in popular cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other regions.
