Ski resorts of Russia

Main article: Tourism in Russia

Main resorts

• Rosa Khutor (Krasnodar Territory)
• Cuffer
• Sheregesh
• Dombai
• Robin (Arkhangelsk region)
• Big Woodyavr (Murmansk region)
• Alpina (Kamchatka region)
• Red Hill (Kamchatka region)
• Mountain air (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

2024

Construction of 17 new ski resorts for ₽460 billion

At the end of November 2024, it became known that it is planned to open 17 new ski resorts in Russia until 2030 with a total investment of more than ₽460 billion. The construction and modernization of tourism infrastructure is being implemented as part of a national project to develop domestic tourism.

According to TASS, Ilya Vinogradov, Director General of the Center for the Development of the Ski Industry and Tourist Territories, announced plans to reconstruct and update 15 existing ski resorts with funding of over ₽200 billion in the next five years.

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Among the largest projects are the construction of the Three Volcanoes Park mountain resort in the Kamchatka Territory, the Rai-Iz ski complex in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the development of infrastructure near the Altai Palace hotel complex in the Altai Territory.

Vladimir Trach, director of the tourism projects department of the Ministry of Economic Development, said that nine ski resorts will receive investment support in the amount of ₽31 billion. The subsidized loan portfolio of these projects will amount to ₽24,1 billion.

To solve the problem of the shortage of accommodation facilities, the construction of new hotels is planned. Four hotel complexes with 700 rooms will appear in Sheregesh, within the framework of the Three Volcanoes project - hotels of categories 3-5 * with a fund of 1397 rooms, at the Rai-Iz resort - a hotel with 320 rooms.

There are 360 ski resorts in Russia, but only 26 of them have a length of more than 10 km. After the completion of the construction of new complexes, the annual number of visitors will increase by 4.7 million people.

The demand for ski holidays in Russia demonstrates steady growth - in the winter season of 2023-2024, the increase in tourist flow was 15%.^[1]

Tourist flow growth by 15% to 8 million tourists

In the winter season 2023-2024, the ski resorts of Russia received about 8 million tourists, which is 15% higher than a year ago. Such data in April 2024 were cited by the Director General of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization (ANO) "Center for the Development of the Ski Industry and Tourist Areas" Ilya Vinogradov.

According to him, by April 2024 there are 360 ski resorts in Russia, but the main tourist flow falls on the 20 largest projects. The share of skiers and snowboarders is 70%, the remaining 30% are travelers of the same day, Vinogradov said.

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This suggests that in the winter season it is worth continuing to emphasize ski services, ski services in order to maintain a stable flow of sports tourists. But monitoring the dynamics of guests of the same day is also important. Each region has its own, and we must not miss the moment when there are more of them than skiers, "he added.

The head of the ANO "Center for the Development of the Ski Industry and Tourist Territories" also cited statistics, according to which the three regions with the highest total tourist flow in the 2023-2024 season included the Southern Federal District - about 2 million people, the Siberian Federal District - 1.7 million and the North Caucasus Federal District - 1.5 million. These three regions receive more than 60% of tourists, and in the North Caucasus, the ski industry attracts 30% of the region's total tourist flow.

According to Vinogradov, as part of the Mountains of Russia award, travelers chose Arkhyz as the best ski resort in Russia and voted for Elbrus as the best ski resort in the North Caucasus Federal District. At the same time, Sheregesh attracted the most tourists in the winter season in the Kemerovo region, he said.^[2]

2023: The rise of tourist flow to the ski resorts of Russia on New Year's holidays

The infrastructure of Russian resorts is actively developing along with an increase in demand for outdoor activities. Skiers and snowboarders continue to visit their long-loved ski slopes. On the New Year holidays of 2023, according to Megafon, the tourist flow of the Sochi ski cluster changed slightly, the largest increase by 5% was shown by the Gazprom complex. The slopes of the Caucasus, on the contrary, show significant growth due to the expansion of ski areas - tourist flow in the resorts of the Elbrus region has grown 15 times, in the resort "Dombai" - 2 times.

At the same time, less well-known resorts in different regions of the country showed a noticeable increase in 2022. The fastest growing was "Big Woodyavr" in the Murmansk region, during the New Year holidays, one and a half times more tourists came here than a year earlier. The resorts of the Kamchatka Territory "Alpina" and "Krasnaya Sopka" also demonstrated significant dynamics - they grew by 47% - and the Mountain Air ski resort in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which received 37% more guests than at the beginning of 2022

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