The tourism business of 2014 has changed its main purpose. The anticipation and pleasure of the rest on the part of travelers, which is the subject of concern and pride of eminent companies in the field of tourism, has been replaced by a disturbing syndrome of travelers: "Have we got to?" The terminology of psychopathic conditions is quite appropriate. Because absolute unpredictability literally crippled the already insecurely standing tourism market.
The crisis in the tourism business: what's next?
What is tourism usually associated with? Beautiful landscapes, relaxation, the sea, sand, palm trees, exotic, liner … Images appear in accordance with the thickness of a personal wallet. Rest has become a measure of prestige.
The quality of travel has become the same indicator as the level of the car. Seychelles, Bahamas, Mallorca … What's next?
And then a full turn of 180 degrees. It turns out that the best can be a vacation in his native country. What are the reasons for this turn? What happened to well-known companies that arose at the very beginning of the formation of such a beautiful business, which so ugly ended with crowds of deceived tourists?
Russian alternative
It cannot be said that holidays in Russia are not competitive with foreign ones. A lot of pretty and comfortable places for tourists. But it is impossible to compare different things. How is it impossible to compare, for example, which is better - swimming or figure skating? Ask a question: can swimming be replaced by figure skating? Unlikely. Just as it is impossible to replace foreign voyages with holidays in Russia, about which the media are now so friendly.
Tourism in Russia was previously a pleasure for the rich. Rest here can not afford everyone. In conditions of lower competition from outbound tourism, there is a real risk of rising prices in rubles. And our compatriot, perhaps, would prefer not to go anywhere at all. Time will tell. Raising the Russian tourism sector by redistributing the flow is also not a good idea. This is the same as pouring water into the pool after people learn to dive into it. It is fraught with consequences.
Mind can not understand Russia
A crisis is always a mismatch of form and content. For example, if a lot of houses are being built, then the pendulum will swing in the other direction, and you should prepare for the collapse of the construction business, the bursting cooperatives and the mass disappearance of developers. Many Russians suffer.
If banks of various forms of ownership give money left and right at an inadequate 40% per annum, redistributing cheap foreign resources in their sector, Russian borrowers suffer. The insurance company burst - the insurer is to blame. The state compensates something only if the documents are drawn up correctly.
The problems of the tourism business in Russia are a visible part of the iceberg of the general economic crisis. This is a fairly resonant region. Since the tourism product accumulates in itself various participants in the business community: carriers, insurers, and hoteliers.
If you do not pay for the services of suppliers, international legal norms are affected, people remain in a foreign country: they will not be silent here, or, as they say now, “ignore”. So why do tour operators in Russia go bankrupt?
What is the cause of the crisis in tourism?
There is a concept of reputation, and the stability of a company is estimated by the term of commercial activity. Most of the players who left the race in the tourism sector of the economy had an impeccable reputation, high rating and level of professionalism. Let's try to figure out what happened to the tourist market in Russia? So:
- Cancellation of licensing in 2007.
The refusal of state control in terms of professional competence opened the door to the bacchanalia of dumping of newly emerged incompetent one-day firms, which fundamentally undermined business even during the 2008 crisis.
- Expensive financial resources for domestic companies. Russian tour operators could not stand the competition from foreign dark horses financing franchise networks with foreign capital.
- Political force majeure. The closure of travel abroad for certain categories of citizens (military, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergencies and other target segments) and a decrease in tourist flow by at least 30% did not allow for the planned volumes calculated taking into account loan obligations.
These are only the reasons that are on the surface. Given the small margin of the business and the high risks, expensive sources of financing, the need for credit to pay obligations to carriers, foreign partners, frozen deposits to cover risks, the collapse of the national currency, and much more, it seems that this business sector is doomed. And the question "Why do tour operators go bankrupt?" Becomes rhetorical.
New Year - old problems
The crisis, as mentioned above, is similar to a pendulum. Unreasonable excess leads to a loss. A man’s eternal dream to wake up on the first day of January in a new world is, of course, a beautiful utopia. What to expect from the current state of the market? Why do tour operators go bankrupt? 2014 is coming to an end, and what to expect next? Most likely, the entire tourism community will work in the save mode. Statements at the level of “everything is fine with us” are hardly groundless. A systemic crisis cannot hurt each of the participants.
Changing the signs of tourist mass flows from West to East is not a solution to the problem. Of course, a significant part of the finances will not be exported abroad. But is domestic infrastructure ready to absorb these funds?
I myself!
This motto has always been a companion to Russian realities, and now, against the backdrop of what is happening in the tourism business, an appeal for independent travel is increasingly heard.
Everyone knows the position of a child trying to master adulthood: "I myself!" Commendable, but not suitable for a civilized society. There are concepts of specialization and professionalism. Independent travel is only one form of cognition of the world. The great misconception is that you can save bypassing the services of professionals in tourism. He was, is and will be a significant element in the service sector, whose representatives are experts in quality recreation.
Way out of the crisis
There is an exit. It is in the same place as the entrance. The situation in the tourism business will begin to change with the system.
Economic, political, external and internal. A systemic crisis revealed the inability of political forces to resolve the issue not at the expense of anyone, but by joint efforts. The principle of political tolerance did not pass the test of strength. There are no winners in the war, the ability to negotiate and find a solution is an indicator of the level of development of civilization. Consequently, a good prospect of striving for it opens up.
At the moment, a number of preventive measures to prevent the negative consequences of the termination of operators are under consideration. But all of them basically involve an increase in contributions to cover costs in the event of bankruptcy. Thus, the further collapse of operators and problems in the tourism business are a predictable situation. The focus is not on preventing the causes of bankruptcy, but on paying the consequences. Consequently, the fact of possible insolvency of tour operators is recognized a priori.
Tourism in Russia
The development of domestic tourism in Russia is announced everywhere in the media as an alternative to foreign holidays. The reason for this patriotism is as follows:
- the ability to save finances within the country;
- the growth of foreign currency makes it impossible to bet on the segment of the solvent population of the middle level (directions for mass outbound tourism are designed for it);
- the prospect of developing domestic infrastructure for recreation and recreation opens up;
- the risk of non-return (and related financial losses) of tourists in the event of bankruptcy of operators from abroad is eliminated.
Traveling around Russia is a popular service on the part of the population. But there are problems.
Due to the redistribution of flows, there is a threat not only of an increase in the price of vacations in places of accommodation. The main one is the transportation problem. Even when there was no “stay in Russia” motto, it was quite difficult to satisfy the Russian demand for transportation. Therefore, the situation in the tourism business cannot be resolved due to the development of the travel market in Russia. At least for the time being.
East or West
One of the reasons that created instability in the tourism sector was the measures of economic and political sanctions against Russia regarding the situation with Ukraine and Crimea. It is necessary that a certain time period passes until it becomes obvious that the losses of all parties are significant and do not give advantages to any of the participants in the confrontation. A significant reduction in business programs in this area and a drop in the ruble against the euro, in addition to sanctions, is another answer to the question of why tour operators go bankrupt.
It takes time to build relations with the East and compensate for losses of the western direction. Therefore, it’s premature to talk about stabilization of the tourism market.
Eastern version of tourism development
The countries of Southeast Asia, India, the United Arab Emirates, perhaps, will give a chance and perspective for the development of the tourism industry if a common economic space really is formed, provided with a single currency. Temporarily. Because it is impossible to replace the West with the East, as well as Russian tourism - foreign travel.
