Last year’s New Year period was marked by an increase in demand for recreation in Karelia. The upcoming holidays promise to be at least as successful and even exceed last year’s tourist flow values. A number of tour operators are now recording an increase in the number of bookings up to 2 times compared to 2023. About prices, top hotels and changing preferences of Russians – in our review.
Tour operators called the interest of tourists in New Year’s holidays in Karelia stable. Experts differed in their estimates of demand. Some reported a significant increase and increase in booking depth this year, while others are still recording volumes similar to last year and are waiting for demand to intensify by the end of October.
Both are unanimous – tourists who want to celebrate the New Year in Karelia do not save on their holidays.
As for the loading of hotels, it corresponds to the demand – there are still places. But in a number of facilities, difficulties with confirmation are already arising: on the one hand, in the most popular hotels, on the other – in the economy segment.
KARELIA WILL ENTER THE TOP LIST OF RUSSIAN DESTINATIONS FOR NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Karelia will traditionally be included in the top list of Russian destinations that tourists choose to celebrate the New Year. The trend towards an increase in demand for this period, which began several years ago, continues, tour operators say.
The National tour operator ALEAN, the companies “Multitour” and “ScanTur” record an increase in demand for tours and hotels in Karelia from 20% to 100%, depending on the company.
“By the beginning of October, 2 times more bookings were made for the New Year holidays than in the same period for the winter holidays of 2023. Now about 6% of all bookings of New Year’s sightseeing tours in our company are in Karelia,” the National Tour Operator ALEAN said.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented increase in the number of early bookings for the New Year in Karelia compared to last year. At the beginning of October 2024, we recorded 80% more bookings of New Year’s tours than in October 2023,” said the General director of ScanTur Roman Tsvetkov.
Coral Travel calls Karelia one of the most sought-after winter destinations. “Tourists love winter Karelia for its fabulous snowy landscapes, the opportunity to go skiing, dog sledding, and winter fishing. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll see the northern Lights,” the company says, also noting that bookings for the New Year period this year are more active compared to last year.
Many of the tour operators surveyed by Vestnik ATOR this year record earlier sales of New Year’s tours to Karelia. For example, “Multitour” began receiving the first applications for the New Year at the end of August. And in the “Igor Tour” requests have been active since October.
Meanwhile, Anex, FUN&SUN, Russian Express, and Dolphin companies are waiting for the activation of sales in Karelia by the end of October – early November, and the peak of demand is at the end of November. So far, the dynamics in these companies correspond to last year’s.
“There is no surge in bookings yet. Karelia should enter the active booking phase by the end of October. It is too early to talk about the results of the New Year period. Perhaps the volumes will be comparable to last year’s. There are many vacation options in Karelia. About 90% of our tourists choose rich tours in this region , allowing them to see and feel Karelia,” says ATOR Vice President, General Director of the Dolphin tour operator Sergey Romashkin.
TOURISTS CHOOSE RICH NEW YEAR’S PROGRAMS IN KARELIA
Organized tourists planning a New Year’s holiday in Karelia, mostly choose trips with sightseeing programs, and not just book a hotel/recreation center. They go on sightseeing tours with visits to Sortavala, Ruskeala Mountain Park, Kivach Waterfall, Petrozavodsk, they told in “Multitour”.
“Guests who want active recreation, as a rule, choose the Sortavala area, where you can ride huskies, snowmobiles, airbags, retro train. Those who want to spend a quiet and cozy weekend with their family prefer the hotels “Dot on the map. Priozersk” and a dot on the map. Lodeynoye Pole”. Fans of skiing choose the resort “Igora” in the Priozersk district,” Igor Tour company told about the preferences of their tourists.
FUN&SUN tourists are in demand for sightseeing tours with visits to the waterfalls of Akhvenkoski, Lake Ladoga, the Ruskeala Mountain Park, and the cozy streets of Sortavala.
ScanTur travelers choose activities with a New Year’s or ethnic flavor: ride a reindeer sled, fly on a trolley along the Marble Canyon or walk along a suspension bridge over raging waterfalls, visit traditional workshops and, of course, taste national dishes and tinctures.
Sightseeing tours to Karelia are, of course, more expensive than the hotel + flight option. But tourists are not confused by this. On the contrary, they are increasingly booking expensive tours , since such trips provide them with emotions, tour operators say.
“This year, tourists are very actively booking expensive, long-term tours to Karelia, hotels and banquets of a higher level. Budget tours, on the contrary,travelers are less interested. Some expensive tours have already been sold out. For example, our tour “Royal New Year in Karelia” with accommodation in a business class hotel on the shore of Lake Onega in Petrozavodsk and an excellent banquet is selling great. And a budget tour, ideal for a family “New Year’s Eve in the patrimony of Karelian Santa Claus Talvi Ukko” (with visits to cultural and natural attractions) is still being ignored. This was not the case last year, we were more willing to buy inexpensive tours,” Roman Tsvetkov from Scan Tour shared his observation.
WHICH HOTELS DO TOURISTS CHOOSE FOR A NEW YEAR’S HOLIDAY IN KARELIA
The most popular in Karelia are recreation centers and hotels, which are on the shores of lakes or in forests, and not in large cities such as Petrozavodsk or Kondopoga, they told in the “Russian Express”.
“We have group tours for the New Year and January holidays in Petrozavodsk. In this tour, you can choose accommodation in hotels from 3* to 4*+. Group programs have also been formed at the recreation center on the shore of Karelian Lake, where we offer accommodation not only in hotel rooms, but also in cottages. The tour includes an active sightseeing and entertainment program with a visit to the residence of Karelian Santa Claus. Of course, we also form individual tours,” the Russian Express clarified.
Many hotels and recreation centers offer colorful events for the New Year. For example, in the Winter’s Cottage Park Hotel and the Point on the Map hotel chain, guests will find programs on the subject of “Tales of the Ladoga forest“, oriented in the “Igor Tour”.
The situation with the loading of hotels in Karelia today is generally not alarming – there are no difficulties with confirmation, there are still places available. “If you run out of places in a hotel of a certain level, then in most cases it is still possible to find an alternative. Separately, hotels without programs are practically not booked,” said the “Multitour”.
According to ALEAN, the situation is somewhat tense with places in hotels specifically for New Year’s arrivals (from December 31 to 2.01) and with budget categories of rooms (standard rooms). For example, there are no more places for New Year’s Eve in the SPA-the Palaces hotel.
TOP of the most popular tourist hotels in Karelia, where there are still places for the New Year:
- Karelia SPA 4* (Petrozavodsk)
- Peter Inn 4* (Petrozavodsk)
- Frigate 4* (Petrozavodsk)
- Cosmos Petrozavodsk 4* (Petrozavodsk)
- hotel Zarechnaya (Petrozavodsk)
- apartment “9 nights” (Petrozavodsk)
- Sorola Village Park Hotel (Lahdenpohsky district, Sorola village, Lahdenpohya)
- Winter’s cottage (Sortavala, P. Tarulina)
- A point on the map. Sortavala (Sortavalsky district, Kaalamskoye settlement, district of Rutty)
- sanatorium “Marcial waters” 2* (Kondopozhsky district, village of Marcial waters)
- “Black Stones” 4* (Sortavala, P. Kirkkolahti)
- park hotel “Khvoya Karelia” (on the shore of the picturesque lake Navdozero in the Kondopoga district)
- Seasons (Sortavala)
- Raduga campsite (Pryazhinsky district, Alleka village)
- recreation center “Meklakhti tract” (Lahdenpokhsky district, village Cortela)
- hotel Lace (Sortavala, P. Rantoue)
- Ladoga Manor (Niemeliankhov village)
- Chaika 1918 (on the shore of Lake Ladoga, in the village of Haapalampi).
HOW MUCH DO TOURS TO KARELIA COST FOR THE NEW YEAR 2025
There are many options for New Year’s tours to Karelia. Prices depend on the saturation of the programs and the format of the rest. Group tours are cheaper. The most expensive programs will be those formed according to the individual request of the client, noted in the “Russian Express”.
You can simply book a hotel for a couple of nights in Petrozavodsk from a tour operator and buy a plane ticket. Then it will be possible to keep within 25-30 thousand rubles per person. But almost no one chooses this option.
If you choose a tour with the program, then you need to count on at least 14.5 thousand rubles per person for 2 nights excluding the road. The maximum price is 55 thousand rubles per person (in the New Year itself in high–level hotels), specified in “Multitour”.
If you choose a three-day tour, which, in addition to staying in a country hotel, involves entertainment programs in a medieval fortress, many master classes and immersion in the special flavor of Viking life, then you will need to pay about 60 thousand rubles for two people, excluding the road, gave another example in “Scantour”.
Examples of prices for tours of different formats from different tour operators (in all variants – excluding the road):
- rest in the sanatorium “Marcial waters” – from 32.1 thousand rubles for two for three nights. The program starts on December 30th. ALEAN
- rest at the Rainbow campsite – from 51.6 thousand rubles for two for 3 nights. The start is on December 30th. ALEAN
- sightseeing tour “Colorful New Year in the most cheerful village” (bus tour from St. Petersburg) – from 67.9 thousand rubles for two for 3 days. The start is on December 31. ALEAN
- rest in the resort complex “Black Stones” with a New Year’s dinner, a show program, a Christmas tree for children under 12 years old with gifts – from 99 thousand rubles for two for three nights. ALEAN
- tour “New Year’s feast at the Vikings” – from 47.9 thousand rubles for two people for two nights. The start is December 31st. Coral Travel
- tour “Royal New Year in Karelia” – from 94.7 thousand rubles for two for 3 nights. The start is December 31st. Coral Travel
- tour “New Year’s Eve in the patrimony of Karelian Santa Claus – from 53.5 thousand rubles for two for 2 nights. Start on December 31. Coral Travel
- tour “Karelian landscapes on a retro train” (departure from St. Petersburg) – from 23 thousand rubles for two. The start is on December 28th. FUN&SUN
- grand tour “All Karelia” and waterfalls – from 42 thousand rubles for two for 3 nights. The start is on December 28th.
Alexandra Polyanskaya
