Why there are no tours. Russian tour operators have abandoned the sale of last-minute tours due to the crisis. How do last-minute tours appear

"What kind of hot tours do you have now?" When I worked in a travel agency, I consistently heard this question from tourists every day.

At the same time, each time it was necessary to find out what exactly a person understands by the phrase "hot tour".

And it turns out this: for some it is, first of all, cheap tour , for others, this tour that they can leave right tomorrow ... For the third - both. And you can do it without bread, as they say.

In this article, I will explain where the last minute deals come from and how to track them.

Last minute tours: myth or reality

Hotel 5 * in Egypt

Many of you, friends, know such cases: some of your friends flew to a five-star hotel, as they say, for three kopecks. And when asked how he did it, he answered mysteriously: caught a burning tour .

And now you, tormented by memories of what a tidy sum paid off for your vacation last year in a simple "four", are determined to find the same hot tour.

It is possible to understand you, purely humanly. But it is possible, alas, not always to choose the hottest tour to the country you are interested in right now. And the point is not at all that the travel agency manager, a cunning and scoundrel, held such a tour for himself (yes, I read such versions on the Internet, in tourists' reviews). There are simply several objective reasons influencing the appearance of last minute tours.

Below I will tell you about them.

Last minute tours - what is it?

First, let's decide: is it always cheap tour is an burning, and vice versa, burning - cheap?

No, not always.

Cheap tours there is always: come to any travel agency, and you will probably be offered some kind of inexpensive tour. Another thing is whether the hotel that will be offered to you for this money will suit you; or the type of food (or lack of it at all); or departure date and duration of the tour. Simply put, the opportunity to go for 300-400 dollars to a shabby Turkish "three-ruble note" three kilometers from the beach, half board, for five to seven days, is almost always there. But - do you need it?

Most likely no. You would be more satisfied that for this money it was "five" on line 1, with all-inclusive meals, and so for ten days, right? And for such an offer to appear, the tour must really start burning!

How do last-minute tours appear?

In my experience, there is only two options the appearance of the burning tour:

1. The tour operator sees that on a certain date, which, to put it mildly, is not far off, or rather, very soon, he has a lot of seats on the flight... Too many to sell them in the current mode. Then, in order to stir up interest and increase demand, the tour operator decides to reduce prices for tours with a departure on a specified date and releases special offer(special offer) for this date. Voila - burning tour ready!

Information from such a tour appears on the website of the tour operator, all prices are displayed in the selection of the tour, and, with a certain quickness, you can easily fly away on such a hot tour - for 20,000 rubles to a 5 * hotel. If this is what you dream of, just leave your data abroad. passports and the minimum amount of money in your favorite travel agency and ask to be informed about such last-minute tours. Then you have a chance that when such a tour really appears - it will be yours!

You can independently track good offers from tour operators and book your favorite option here: Search for inexpensive tours.

But here you need to keep in mind 2 points:

• as a rule, real "last minute" tours are sold out in a couple of hours after the release of a special offer from the tour operator. Therefore, those tourists who, having learned from me about the burning tour, postponed making a decision until the evening (when my husband comes home from work), or until tomorrow morning (when the boss arrives from a business trip), as a rule, they did not fly away on any hot tours!
• what last-minute tours can we talk about if there are no seats on the flights or there are very few of them?

Therefore, as a rule, last-minute tours do not arise during periods of high sales in tourism. And these include: New Year, May holidays, November holidays.

But very often last minute tours happen during periods of decline in demand for a tourist destination. This can happen the following reasons:

• when the resort of your choice is low season
• due to natural disasters
• unstable political situation in any country

2. The second case of the appearance of a burning tour is abandoned tour. Suppose some tourists who have booked a tour suddenly refuse it a week before the trip, and the travel agency begins to loom fines from the tour operator for canceling a confirmed tour. In this case, the travel agency will try to minimize its losses and sell the tour for 50-80% of the cost. And such a tour, formed after the cancellation of the voucher, the travel agency will also offer as burning.

It is noteworthy that information about such a tour will no longer be displayed on the tour operator's website. It will be sent between travel agents by e-mail, watsap, etc. You, being an ordinary tourist, simply will not know about such a tour, unless you have friends who are travel agents. Or you can fly away on such a burning tourif you are listed in the client base of the travel agency where the refusal occurred.

In all other cases, under the guise of last minute tours, the most ordinary tours are sold.

Simply, since tourists are so led by the bait called "hot tour", why not play on it? The usual advertising stunt.

So let's already understand for ourselves once and for all what a burning tour is, and we will not ask the manager of a travel agency in September for a burning tour for the New Year holidays.

Great travels, friends, and see you on the blog!

The need for this review on our site has ripened for a long time, many people ask about last minute tours, about whether you can really buy them and save money. It would seem that everything is simple, take a hot tour and save on vacation. But many are faced with the fact that after arriving at the resort and communicating with other tourists, they find that they paid the same amount as all other vacationers, and sometimes more expensive. What's on fire on their tour? Or maybe everyone in our country travels on last minute deals?

Hotels are the biggest headache for tour operators; they often have a difficult relationship with them. Most often, it is possible to agree, and the hotel books rooms upon requests without any prepayment. But sometimes tour operators book a certain number of rooms in advance, and in this case they must sell them in order not to be at a loss.

It is in this case that our case of interest can arise. So, in order for a burning ticket to be formed, you need to:

Only if the aforementioned factors coincide, when a tourist operator needs to “bleed” the tour, in which he already has a prepaid hotel, a “hot tour” can form.

You yourself understand that this situation does not occur so often. Operators work with most hotels on the fact of booking, without buying out the number of rooms in advance. Such vouchers are found, we do not argue, but this happens very rarely. Tour operators are constantly working to ensure that they do not arise, it is not profitable for them.

Some tours are sold a little cheaper than usual, we cannot call them "last minute", but the price for them is slightly lower. In the picture below the price chart for tours, we will consider it carefully.

As you can see, in our chosen case, there is a big difference in the price of tours that start in the next few days, and tours that start a week or later. A tour departing on February 16 costs USD 2895, and a tour departing on February 3 (the picture was taken on January 31) costs already USD 2095. Agree, a decent difference.

The difference that we have shown is associated with a decrease in the price of tickets that could not be sold on time, such a tour can hardly be called “last minute”, but the price is very attractive. These are the tours we recommend you to “catch”, but it is better to talk to our specialist, we will do it for you.

After we have “sorted out” this problem, many will ask. And why on every corner there is a signboard “last minute deals store” or “last minute tour agency”? We answer, they are just called that, no one forbids calling a grocery store “delicious bread” or a clothing store called “fashionable things”. This is what they call their travel agencies, there is nothing illegal in this.

As for the availability of interesting offers in the assortment, we can tell you a secret, the assortment is the same for everyone, travel agencies do not create tours, but only sell them. Prices are also the same for everyone, they are set by the operators, and the agency can only give you a discount at the expense of its commission. You can experiment yourself. Go to such an agency, take an offer and call us, ask for a price, specifying the hotel, type of food, departure date and number of nights at the resort. The price announced by our specialist will not differ, there is no 20-30% difference in the price that should exist in the event of a “hot tour” and will not be.

The phrase "hot deals" in the name of the company acts on the consumer like a red rag on a bull. Many people really think that they will get a low price in such a company. It is important for a travel agency to attract a client, therefore, price tags with very low prices are everywhere, and when you come there, you come across the phrase “this tour has already been sold, let us find something else for you”. Moreover, many do not hesitate to embellish their proposal or openly lie.

The first is that if you have no desire to travel to a specific country, then you can buy a tour a week before the vacation, there will be such an offer that will be profitable, we showed such an example above, our specialists are ready to help in this matter.

The second way is to buy a tour from an agency that is not tied to a specific tour operator and has a wide range of options. Conditions for hotels are different for different operators, a tour to the same hotel may cost differently from Coral or Pegas, and the difference can be significant. If you go to an independent agency, you will get the best price. By the way, our agency "Yellow Crane" is independent.

Third tip. Check with several agencies, make sure that they are not trying to sell you a ticket at exorbitant prices. You can also check the price on the website of the travel operator, it's even more reliable.

Russian tour operators have almost completely abandoned the format of last minute tours, writes Kommersant. If earlier the last-minute tours accounted for at least 15%, market participants say, now there are practically none.

Photo: Sergey Savostyanov / TASS

The offers of tour operators have almost ceased to provide for the so-called format of last minute tours, Kommersant writes with reference to market participants. The reasons are the crisis in the tourism market that has been going on for two years.

According to Igor Blinov, representative of OnlineTour, in 2014, hot tours accounted for about 15% of sales, but now they are practically nonexistent. Tours purchased a few days before departure are currently 30-40% higher than pre-sale prices, he says.

Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, speaks about similar indicators. According to her, in 2014, hot tours accounted for 15-20% of sales, and now - a maximum of 3-5%. The volume of last-minute offers is really decreasing, says Dmitry Malyutin, CEO of Level.Travel, but last summer the agents managed to find such tours to Greece, Crete and inland resorts.

Among the reasons for the disappearance of hot tours are the changing rules of the game on the market, says Igor Blinov. According to him, operators have begun to use regular transportation in package offers more often. They also prefer not to immediately buy out significant blocks of places in hotels and refuse unreasonable dumping in order to increase the client base.

Now the concept of "hot tours" carries more of a marketing load, he notes.

Tatiana Belova, director of the development department of the BSI Group agency network, also connects with the optimization of flight programs of tour operators and their guarantees when buying seats. Last minute tours, she notes, are single offers: for example, if the client at the last moment refused to travel due to extraordinary circumstances.

Another reason Lomidze calls the absence of mass tourist destinations in the current market - for example, Egypt. Also, the reason, she says, is the reduced commission of travel agents: earlier on hot tours its size could reach 30%, now - no more than 12-13%.

In the coming summer, the number of last-minute tours in the portfolios of tour operators may increase, taking into account the demand for massive seasonal destinations during this period, Lomidze admits. The growth of the segment may begin after returning to the mass market of Egypt, Dmitry Malyutin suggests.

It is no longer worth expecting mass dumping from tour operators, implying in any case an increase in the supply of last-minute tours, says Anna Podgornaya, general director of Pegas Turistik. According to her, the market has changed a lot and companies are no longer ready to take risks and operate at a loss as it was before 2014.

Due to the crisis and changes in the market structure, Russian tour operators have completely abandoned the sale of last minute tours. This opinion was voiced by a number of media outlets, citing data from representatives of the tourism sector. However, experts interviewed by a correspondent of the TURPROM information group disagree with this - hot tours, and in Western terminology, “last minute bookig” tours, have not disappeared, although their share has indeed decreased somewhat. However, this spring, experts are sure, the market may be covered by a new wave of burning tours due to dumping wars, which some tour operators are likely to unleash in Turkish and Egyptian directions.

So, according to Kommenrsant, due to the fact that tour operators are increasingly forming package tours not on the basis of their own charters, but on the basis of regular flights, thereby optimizing their flight programs, the need to sell vouchers at last minute prices has actually disappeared - the risks of unrealized tours are transferred to the shoulders of airlines. Thus, Igor Blinov, a representative of the OnlineTour travel agency, notes that if up to 2014 last-minute tours accounted for about 15% of sales, now they are practically nonexistent. "The corresponding requests from clients remained, but it is almost impossible to pick up something according to them: the cost of a tour, bought a few days before departure, now turns out to be 30-40% higher than in the preliminary sale, and not vice versa," the newspaper quotes him ...

However, according to other experts, hot deals have not disappeared anywhere. “It is not the season now, therefore, there are certainly very few such offers. But on the whole, there are definitely no fewer of them in the market. And when Turkey starts at the beginning of April, and charters fly there en masse, there will be no less burning tours than in previous years. After all, everyone understands perfectly well that the first thing that tour operators will do to gain the largest market share is to lay out tariffs of $ 299 or $ 399, and everything will return to normal, "says Sergey Samokhvalov, director of development for the network of travel agencies" Global Travel ".

At the same time, the expert noted that last year there were indeed slightly fewer such offers than usual, since there were no two mass directions at once on the market. In the same year, according to Sergei Samokhvalov, those who want to relax in Greece, Tunisia, and even on the Black Sea coast of Russia will definitely not be left without last minute offers - prices for Turkey will pull down prices for all other mass destinations.

Sergei Tolchin, the sales director of the tour operator "", also disagrees with the fact that last-minute tours are a thing of the past. According to him, the very appearance of last-minute tours in the lines of companies is primarily associated with the ratio of supply and demand at the moment. For example, if there is no excess transportation, and the balance of supply and demand is optimal, then there can be no last-minute tours in principle. When there is an oversupply of transportation on the market, then there are inexpensive or very cheap vacation options, which primarily attract tourists who previously did not plan to go on vacation due to lack of funds. “People see that a week-long trip abroad for all-inclusive is for sale for the price of two nights in a recreation center near Moscow without meals. As a result, it turns out that this is not an organically formed demand, but a situation artificially created by the market. That is, it is impossible to say that hot tours disappear in principle. This is a seasonal phenomenon, which may be related to the current economic and political situation, correct planning, weather events, and so on, ”the expert explained.

The Deputy President "" also notes that last-minute offers appear already in fact, therefore, it is incorrect to say that they will not be in the upcoming season: "It is possible that there may be an oversupply of transportation on such directions as Greece or Turkey. That is, until the season has begun, one cannot say that there will be no burning offers. " According to the expert, if the companies are unable to fill their charters, burning is definitely inevitable.

However, according to Sergei Golov, President of the Union of Travel Agencies (STA), against the backdrop of the crisis, tour operators began to approach the planning of their flight programs in more detail, as a result of which the number of last-minute tours may indeed decrease. “Tour operators have reduced the flight program according to their financial capabilities and limitations. After all, what is last-minute tours is an oversupply of transportation in the market, which you need to pay out of your pocket. Often, only the cost of the flight was included in the cost of such a tour, and the tour operator actually subsidizes the tourist from his pocket for accommodation, meals and transfers. However, during the crisis, the profitability of work became critical conditions for survival, as a result, tour operators began to form their programs more competently, and the number of hot tours on the market decreased, ”he said.

Rubles. These are real examples of cheap packages I've found over the past year. Find out where and how to find these last minute deals.

This leadership is already three years old. As an avid traveler and cheap tour hunter, I have laid out my experience and knowledge of finding cheap travel deals. Learn how to relax at no extra cost!

Rules for searching and buying the cheapest tours:

Rested in Turkey in June / July 2019 on a hot tour for 33,500 rubles for two. Fine!

1. Buy tours online

Travel agencies on the street sell packages for more than online tour search engines. The last time I bought a ticket at the office of a travel agency was back in 2012. Then there were convenient and reliable online tour search services - now I only use them. I no longer go to the offices of greedy travel agencies - it is more convenient and profitable to buy tickets on the Internet.

Why is it more expensive in travel agencies? The reason is in the human factor - cunning managers in travel agencies in all possible ways promote the client to buy a more expensive tour package. They fundamentally do not want to sell tours for 5, 10, 20 thousand - percent of such deals is not enough for them, they need more gold!

Where to look for cheap tours online? I use three search engines:, and. All three are reliable and very comfortable. Choose which one you like best.

Install the mobile app... Travelata has an excellent application: download it for or and use the current promotional code when buying a tour AF600MOBmake-trip- you will receive a discount of 600 rubles for any tours that cost from 50,000 rubles.

How do tour search engines work? They compare prices among 130 popular tour operators and find the cheapest tours. Finding and booking a tour yourself is easy. You can see full information on the voucher: hotel, flight, meals, tourist reviews, and so on. You choose the tour you like. Do you have any questions? Ask your consultant via chat or by phone. Safe online payment with a bank card. The tour can also be purchased in installments.

Offices and consultants... All three search engines have offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other large cities. Hot line support is also available. So it's easy to interact with them.

Pros of buying tours online:

1. Big choice... Compare prices from all tour operators to find the cheapest tour. Compared - saved!
2. Convenient and fast... No need to go to travel agency offices, waste time traveling, waiting and talking. You can find and book a tour in 15-30 minutes at home or at work. When buying last-minute tours, speed is especially important: I found a cheap ticket - I bought it in a couple of clicks until it disappeared.
3. Safely... Search engines work only with reliable tour operators. Payment is made using a secure protocol. There is a round-the-clock support service.
4. Independence... I recommend looking for and buying tours yourself. This is more reliable - you know better than any person what exactly you need and at what price. No interference from others - no way to confuse you. In offices, managers are often cunning or simply incompetent.
5. Documents - immediately... When buying a tour online, all reservations and confirmations will be sent to the mail immediately after payment. In an ordinary agency, employees like to delay the issuance of documents - passed, we know.
6. Securely... I trust large online search engines with a large client base and a well-known name. Travel agencies with colorful names like "Cactus", "Sea of ​​Dreams" or "Marina Travel" scattered along the streets of Russian cities - no.

2. Be flexible in terms and dates

Often we have many restrictions: rigidly fixed vacation days, personal affairs and obligations. However, try to achieve as much freedom as possible in the choice of dates - this will save you money.

See different departure days... The vacation starts on Monday and did you find a tour for this day for 50 thousand? Check out the departures on Tuesday or Wednesday - what if there are tours for 30 thousand. I come across this on a regular basis.

Change the duration of the rest... Often (not sometimes, but often!) Tours for 7 nights are cheaper than tours for 5 nights, tours for 10 nights are cheaper than tours for 8 and so on. Don't limit yourself - check all the options!

Take a look at the site's price calendar. Often, vouchers for 7 nights are cheaper than vouchers for 3 nights:

3. Be flexible in your choice of resort

If you are a monogamous person who prefers to travel to the same place every year, then the question of choosing a destination is not worth it. I recommend everyone else to consider different resorts - your chances of buying a cheap tour will increase.

How does direction affect price?

1. There are traditionally expensive directions (,). There are cheap directions (,).
2. Seasonality plays an important role: it is cheaper to fly to some resorts in summer, to others in winter, to others in spring or autumn.
3. Random factors also work. For example, a tour operator sold few vouchers in one of the directions and decided to reduce prices - hot tours appear.

Want to buy the cheapest tour? See as many directions as you can. Compare not only countries, but also individual resorts of the same country.

4. Buy tours from Moscow

It is for flights from Moscow that you can find the cheapest tours. Competition and a developed air transportation system are driving down prices. Sometimes the difference in price compared to other cities is colossal.

What should a non-capital tourist do?

First check if you can find a cheap tour from your city. Found it? Excellent - take it! If not, then it is worth expanding the geography of the departure cities.

See if there are cheap tours from neighboring cities or from Moscow. You can get to the point of departure yourself: by bus, train or plane. "Pobeda" flies to Moscow from many cities of Russia - tickets cost from 1000 rubles. I myself live in the provinces, and on vacation I fly from Moscow.

All situations are different - there is no one solution. Compare prices and decide what is best for you: overpay and fly from your city or save money but spend time traveling to another city.

Take a look at the examples below. I compared the cost of vouchers to Cyprus from Moscow and Yekaterinburg. A tour from the capital can be bought much cheaper. If you fly to Moscow on your own, you can save a lot of money.

5. Use smart search

(Photo © Unique Properties (UP) / flickr.com / License CC BY-NC 2.0.)

7. Book in advance

Buy a tour in advance or catch it burning? This question is asked by many tourists. Both early booking and buying a tour at the last moment provide an opportunity to save money. Each option has its own pros and cons.

Early booking... Cons: discounts are usually not as big as when buying last minute tours. Plus: you can choose any hotel to your taste, relax is beautiful and pleasant. This is a winning option in terms of price-quality ratio.

Last Minute Tours... Buying a tour at the last moment is often very profitable. Pros: big discounts, sometimes vouchers are generally sold for a penny. There are two downsides. Firstly, there is no guarantee that a cheap last minute tour will appear for your destination on the dates you need. At the last moment, prices can either go down or jump strongly. This game is pretty gambling. The second drawback is that during the high season, all the best hotels will be already booked, you will have to choose from the second-rate options.

Output... If you need a tour anywhere and as cheaply as possible, catch the last minute deals just before the flight. If the quality of rest is a priority, then buy the tour in advance (optimally - 2-3 months in advance). You will receive both early booking discounts and a wide range of hotels.

Friends, I travel a lot and willingly share my experience and knowledge with anyone who needs it. Join

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