Russian Business Travel Market Sees Significant Growth in Winter
According to Kommersant, the number of bookings for international destinations on the business tourism market in the winter has increased by over 40% compared to the previous year. The article quotes Kommersant as saying that the positive trend is not only driven by Asian destinations, but also by those in Western Europe, with a 40-60% increase in travel to these regions. The reason for this is the expansion of air traffic, the opening of new company offices and the search for new technologies by businesses. The business tourism market is expected to grow by 25-30% for the year.
OneTwoTrip for Business calculated that the number of business trips within Russia during the winter season (December 2024-February 2025) increased by 29%, while the number of international trips rose by 44%. The share of international destinations in the structure of flight bookings by the provider has grown from 10% to 11.5% over the year. Trivio reported a 20% increase in domestic sales and a doubling of international sales.
According to Aeroclub, the demand for hotels for Russian business travelers in the winter increased by 8% compared to the previous year and for international hotels, it rose by 11%.
Julia Lipatova, the CEO of Aeroclub, believes that the growth of business travel in the country is driven by the development of Russian regions and in the international arena, by the strengthening of ties with friendly countries. Tatiana Lenschina, the CEO of Trivio, names the expansion of flight options as an additional factor, according to Kommersant.
The three most important industries that undertook business trips abroad in the winter, according to experts, were the automotive and machinery manufacturing companies, which increased the number of their business trips by 73% compared to the previous year.
Experts say that business trips to Western countries are mainly undertaken to acquire knowledge and technology and to postsoviet and Asian countries, to expand and open new offices. Kommersant reports that the number of overnight stays booked by business travelers in China in the winter increased by 62%, in Uzbekistan by 59% and in Egypt by a factor of two and a half. In Turkey, the number decreased by 19% and in the United Arab Emirates by 41%.
The growth of the business tourism market in Russia was observed earlier. In 2024, the market for business tourism in Russia increased by 25%, according to the Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov. He emphasized that the majority of trips were to domestic destinations, with Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg being the most popular cities for business. Among international destinations, business travelers most often chose Turkey, China and Uzbekistan. The Ministry is working to develop this area, including by implementing the strategy for congress and exhibition activities, as the Minister further stated.