The financial potential that can be unlocked through developing agro tourism in Russia is estimated at RUB 55 billion a year, while the annual number of travellers to the countryside may reach eight million people. The potential of multi-day trips in the Russian regions may be released by creating an infrastructure of guest houses for smaller groups of tourists. RusAg’s Deputy Chairman of the Board Denis Konstantinov discussed these ideas at a panel titled ‘New Ideas for the New Time: Agro Tourism’ at the 23rd Russian Agricultural Exhibition Golden Autumn.
Agro tourism, a relatively new phenomenon in Russian tourism, involves visits to farms, farmsteads, outdoor entertainment, animal experiences, caring for animals, food sampling and master classes.
‘Agro tourism is a very exciting tourism segment. In many countries it is a full-fledged and lucrative business, and it has a great potential for growth in Russia. Its financial potential in this country is estimated at RUB 55 billion a year, and the number of people visiting the countryside annually may reach eight million,’ said Denis Konstantinov.
RusAg analysts have compiled a profile and looked at the expectations of an average agro tourist. An agro tourist is typically a resident of a large city, is aged 28-45, has a college degree, is married with one or two children, has an average family income of RUB 150,000-300,000 a month and would go on an agro tour for one or two days, typically on a weekend.
‘With the help of analytics, RusAg has developed tools to help a farmer enter the agro tourism market easily and quickly. We’ve launched My Countryside, Russia’s first domestic travel aggregator, where newcomers can learn how to start their business and experienced farmers can further structure their knowledge. Farmers who want to offer agro tourism services can use the platform to post information about their farm. They will then be contacted by a potential tourist planning a trip who may request additional services such as transfer, food or tours. The client may afterwards leave comments or upload photos for other platform users,’ added Mr Konstantinov.
The pandemic has dramatically changed tourist behaviour, stimulating domestic travel, giving a boost to agro tourism and pushing up demand for guest houses. Previously, this demand was registered mainly around the large cities and locations with a million and more population; it has now spread onto the provinces. Among the advantages of this guest accommodation format are greater affordability and proximity to agro tourism services, making a tourist part of rural life and landscape. In 2020, 83% of holidaymakers used recreation facilities and campsites, and only 10% and 7% stayed at tourist camps and traditional holiday homes. Tourist camps were the category worst hit by Covid: in 2019 their market share was almost 50% higher (14%). Over the last five years, recreation facilities / campsites and much more basic tourist camps have added 2.3 times and 1.5 times more beds respectively. This trend points to growing demand for comfortable accommodation.
Releasing the potential for multi-day tours in the Russian provinces (including fixed-route tours) requires an additional guest house infrastructure for smaller groups of tourists. Offering accommodation and meals in smaller housing units will generate new and potentially attractive sources of income for a farmer. Villages and other settlements (including in remote areas) now have broader opportunities to diversify the structure of their agricultural employment and income by generating more income streams through tourism services.
RusAg believes that the Federal Agro Tourism Law was primarily designed to support tourist clusters with high numbers of holidaymakers. To help farmers and promote such an increasingly popular format as a guest house requires niche-targeted promotion. My Countryside is a platform that serves the purpose of promoting tourist offers from farmers and other rural residents. Now featuring 460 tours from farmers located from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, My Countryside is expected to be offering 1,000 tour products by the end of the year. Rather than charging the farmers additional fees, the platform encourages the users to book their new experiences at the prices set by the farmers.