According to a recent Levada poll, more Russians are starting to go to fun places on vacation. The total numbers of those going to the Black Sea or the Far Abroad rises to 16% in 2012, compared with 9% in 2006, 5% in 2000, and 4% in 1997. The percentage of those saying they won’t vacation at all has halved from 31% in 1997 to 15% today. The biggest increase, albeit from a very low base, has been in the percentage of those saying they will go to the Far Abroad, which rose to 5%; the total for all foreign countries, including in the Near Abroad and Crimea, is 8%. This is still significantly below developed country levels like the US (20%) or the UK (34%) but again in this, as in cars, Internet penetration, and GDP per capita, convergence is undeniable.
1997 | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
Dacha | 23 | 25 | 27 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
Black Sea (Russia) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
Crimea | – | – | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Baltics | <1 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Other Russian place | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Other ex-USSR place | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Far Abroad | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
Remain at home | 33 | 45 | 40 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 28 | 30 |
Won’t go on vacation | 31 | 23 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 15 |
Not yet decided | 10 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 15 |