Domestic tourism during the New Year holidays continues to gravitate towards the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow and St Petersburg, yet interest in the Moscow Region, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and short regional trips is becoming increasingly noticeable.
The New Year tourist season is kicking off without the usual surge in prices. According to TravelLine, bookings are currently at roughly the same level as last year, and hotels in most popular regions are seeing moderate price increases. Exceptions include the Moscow Region and Yaroslavl Region, where the average room rates have risen by 12.4% and 16.3%, respectively.
The Krasnodar Krai remains the leading destination, followed by Moscow and St Petersburg. However, the map of winter tourism is gradually shifting: the Krasnodar Krai is losing its share, while the Moscow Region and Nizhny Novgorod Region are gaining ground. The top ten also includes Tatarstan, Yaroslavl, Stavropol, Kaliningrad and Sverdlovsk Regions.
The most significant price increases are seen in destinations where a winter journey itself becomes a rare experience. The Altai region has risen by 63%, the Trans-Baikal region by 50%, the Irkutsk region by 36%, and Kamchatka by 28%. Meanwhile, in Tatarstan, the Stavropol region, and the Kaliningrad region, New Year’s Eve has, on the contrary, become slightly more affordable.
Destinations that excel at turning winter into a unique narrative are thriving. Vologda welcomes 2027 as Russia’s New Year Capital, with hotel bookings there increasing by approximately 40%. Veliky Ustyug remains one of the leading family winter destinations, with around 90% of winter tours focusing on the New Year period.
The main shift is that winter tourism across Russia is becoming more diverse. The sea, major cities, and ski resorts maintain their popularity, but alongside them, historic Russian towns, sanatoriums, thermal spas, and two- or three-day itineraries are gaining ground with increasing confidence. For international travellers, this is also a significant change: winter in Russia is no longer limited to Moscow, St Petersburg, and Sochi, and is increasingly offering a variety of independent travel options.
In the first nine months of 2026, the number of tourist trips by foreigners to Russia increased by 3.45%. Moreover, over half of the international bookings at Russian hotels made via the Yandex Travel platform were attributed to visitors from China.
The Tretyakov Gallery is marking the 160th anniversary of Léon Bakst by showcasing the artist who transformed theatrical costume into a work of art—creating stage looks that became an integral part of the fashion landscape
The Hermitage celebrates the 175th anniversary of the Saint Petersburg–Moscow railway with an exhibition exploring how this new mode of transport transformed not only distances but also architecture, art, and the very rhythm of life in the country.
