Experts in the tourism industry believe that the format of traveling, allowing to visit several cities in a short period of time, will be popular among Russians.
Russian Railways announced the launch of the tourist train “Zhiguli Weekend”. The route includes Moscow, Syzran, Togliatti, and Samara. The first train will depart from Kazansky railway station on April 27 and return to Moscow on April 30. The train consists of double-decker wagons with a climate control system, a restaurant car, and a shower car. Ticket prices start from 13,000 rubles.
During the trip, passengers will have the opportunity to see the Samarskaya Luka National Park and the Zhiguli Mountains, visit the Samara Space Museum, Garibaldi Castle, and the AvtoVAZ Museum.
Vice President of the Alliance of Tourist Agencies of Russia, CEO of the “Pink Elephant” tourist network, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, discusses who might be interested in this route:
— If we talk about Samara, Togliatti, both pensioners and families with children will go there. This route is primarily for people aged 55-60+. The railway is trying to cover all categories: youth, schoolchildren, families, pensioners. Something is popular, something is not very popular, nevertheless, in recent years, some routes have become mega-popular. The Caucasus has been a mega-popular route for more than five years with a break due to Covid.
— Does this contribute to the development of the internal hotel infrastructure?
— Of course, it’s convenient to live on a train: you unpack your things once in your compartment, move around, and don’t pack your things in three to five cities. They go on excursions, buy souvenirs, dine in restaurants. Yes, they mostly eat on the train, but they still want to try something colorful, local, national. I will say more: every year railway tourism grows by about 15-20%, it has a great future. It’s very profitable. You don’t waste time, you see a lot in a short time. If you travel on your own, staying in hotels, it takes much longer. And here, in five-six days, you see quite a lot — four-five cities. People like it.
Additionally, train passengers can either create their own itinerary for the cities or purchase a comprehensive tourist package or individual excursions in addition to the ticket.