Travel Trends: Where do Ukrainians go and how prices for winter holidays have changed

Despite all the challenges, Ukrainians continue to travel, choosing both budget and more expensive holiday destinations. Ukrainian experts in the field of Tourism told UNN about the most popular destinations for winter holidays, the average cost of trips and changes in prices over the past year.

Popular destinations in Ukraine and abroad

President of the Ukrainian Association of travel agencies Anton Rudich noted that in winter, Ukrainians choose the Carpathians.

"As before the war, the Carpathians remain the most popular in Ukraine in winter. It is the Egyptian season abroad, and the United Arab Emirates is also popular," Rudic said.

According to him, vacation prices have changed significantly due to the fact that Ukrainians are forced to fly from the airports of neighboring countries – Poland, Romania, Moldova, which significantly affects the cost.

Vladimir Tsaruk, director of the Center for Tourism Development, said that Zanzibar and the United Arab Emirates are popular among exotic destinations in winter.

"In Ukraine, during the new year and Christmas period, the most popular destinations are the Carpathians (Bukovel, Transcarpathia), as well as Lviv and the region. For short weekends in Transcarpathia, the economy option costs 5-7 thousand hryvnias per person without travel. On peak dates (until December 31 or from January 2 to January 4), the cost increases to 10-15 thousand hryvnias in three days. Abroad, most often choose Poland (Zakopane, Krakow), Egypt and sightseeing bus tours to Europe – for example, Prague-Vienna or to the thermal resorts of Hungary. Zanzibar and the United Arab Emirates are popular among exotic destinations," Tsaruk said.

In Ukraine, vacation prices have changed slightly, as there is no inbound tourism, and the war also affects demand. During peak dates, resorts like Truskavets or Transcarpathia remain full.

"But prices there have significantly decreased. If we compare it with 2021, the pre-war period, now prices have fallen significantly during peak dates. That is, in good hotels, they decreased by about 20-30%. On off-peak dates, many hotels that, say, do not have a five-star status, but are of high quality, also reduce prices. And this is despite the additional costs of generators, which most hotels are forced to cover," Tsaruk added.

Abroad, the cost of Tours has increased due to complicated logistics. Ukrainians are more likely to choose economy options, in particular 4-star hotels in Egypt, which previously lost to 5-star hotels.

According to the expert, the cost of a holiday in Egypt, provided that you do not take into account the new year period, in winter starts from 4 450 per person. The price for a tour in 5-star hotels for 7 nights ranges from 8 800-900, including air travel and meals.

Zanzibar will cost more: holidays in 3-4-star hotels start at 1 1,200 per person. If you choose the duration of the tour for 10 nights, the cost will be about 2 2000.

"A 7-day vacation in the United Arab Emirates costs about 1 1,100 -1 1,400. This amount includes flights, accommodation and breakfast in 4 - star hotels," Tsaruk added.

Oleg Kulik, general director of the Let's go with us Network, noted that Ukrainians choose Egypt in winter, because it is the cheapest destination.

The average tour to Egypt costs between 1 1,000 and 2 2,000 for two people, or 5 500-1,000 per person. During the new year and Christmas period, prices traditionally increase, while in December, before the holidays, the cost is lower.

For fans of bus tours, sightseeing routes to Europe remain popular.

According to statistics, about 80% of Ukrainians choose Egypt, 10% are bus tours, and another 10% are more expensive destinations such as the United Arab Emirates, Zanzibar, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam or the Maldives.

"Every year prices for all tourist destinations are gradually increasing. This is normal, it has always been so — by 5%, 10%, 15%. The reason is inflation or devaluation, currency. Sometimes there are significant fluctuations, for example, during the New Year holidays, when demand is very high, and hotels are crowded — then prices can increase significantly. However, on normal dates, this happens extremely rarely," Kulik summed up.