Most Russian nationals (57%) plan to spend the upcoming May holidays and summer at home or at their dachas, while about 30% hope they will be able to travel domestically or abroad, according to a survey carried out by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center. This reported by TASS.
Eleven percent hope to take a trip to another Russian city at a given point in time. Four percent hope they will be able to travel to Crimea, and six percent plan a trip to the Black Sea. Three percent cherish the aspiration of visiting foreign countries, while two and one percent of those surveyed accordingly plan trips within the former Soviet Union, and among them specifically to the Baltic states. Thus, about 30% of the Russian nationals polled in April planned trips for the May holidays or for summer, the pollster said in a survey presented to an online conference hosted by TASS on Tuesday.
The top three among the domestic destinations were Krasnodar in southern Russia, St. Petersburg and Altai.
Abkhazia, Belarus, Armenia were named as the most popular destinations among the former Soviet republics. As for foreign countries, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were mentioned.
The pollster conducted similar surveys in March and in early April. In April, most Russians (72%) said their plans for May or summer holidays had not changed in the past two months, while plans of the other 26% did change. The rest of the polled Russians were undecided. In March, 81% said their plans had not changed, while 17% said that they had revised their holiday arrangements.
The main reasons to revise the plans in April were coronavirus (50%), the lockdown (34%), a ban on leaving Russia (11%). As for March, coronavirus dominated as well (55%), while 17% of the surveyed people were worried about the plummeting ruble. An exit ban was a matter of concern for another 13%.
The pollster interviewed 1,600 Russian adults over the phone in 500 cities and townships as well as 100 villages in at least 80 regions. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5%