TRANSFORMATION OF MARKETING IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY OF RUSSIA BASED ON ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER DEMAND DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The tourist sphere of activity in Russia was among the areas of the economy that were quite severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many major chain tour operators and hotels have closed for the first time in decades. Revenues from the sale of tours and hotel rooms fell sharply. Travel industry companies have embarked on the difficult task of figuring out how to deal with the new reality created by the pandemic. Therefore, this study is devoted to identifying changes in consumer attitudes towards tourism products in the Russian Federation. The article assesses the opinions of Russian consumers of tourist services. The result of the study is the proposed recommendations for conducting marketing strategies in the tourism industry. The most numerous segment is family beach vacations, so the main marketing investments should be directed specifically to this group of consumers. Advertising campaigns should focus on the comfort of hotels and infrastructure for families with children. Social networks and the Internet in general should become the main advertising channels. This strategy will attract both young people, using advertising on social networks, attracting bloggers and famous personalities. To increase loyalty to Russian tourism, youth tours should be developed, which will help to attract people to domestic travel. These actions will have a long-term impact on the tourism industry in Russia, as they can attract people to domestic tourism in the future.