Psychological characteristics of Russian tourists

Russian tourists are always one of the largest tourist groups in Vietnam. In March 2020, the number of Russian tourists to Vietnam was 72,222 out of 162,165 visitors from Europe, according to data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Under the influence of Covid-19, the number of visitors from this country to Vietnam after the first quarter of 2020 still increased by 13% compared to the same period last year. Understanding the psychological characteristics of Russian tourists will certainly bring many benefits to our country’s tourism.

The psychological characteristics of Russian tourists can be mentioned as follows:

Tends to favor tropical tourist destinations

• Much of Russia’s territory is cold and dry. This is the reason why Russian tourists often go to places with a warm climate, year-round sunshine and beautiful beaches like Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam… Also for this reason, they often travel to enjoy , not as demanding on culture as many other European guests because they spend most of their time in resorts and resorts;
• Therefore, Russian tourists resort to the sea quite a lot (56%). Next is to visit relatives (19%), 25% for official purposes and other purposes;
• Russian tourists are not fluent in other foreign languages, especially English, so they often buy package tours to ensure safety and convenience…

Comfort in spending

Russian tourists are a high-paying tourist market, ranking 9th in the world in terms of consumption (according to the World Tourism Organization WTO in 2005). Mr. Jon Koldowski, SIC Director of the Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, said that since 2000, foreign tourist spending by Russian tourists increased by 15.5% per year. The majority of Russian tourists traveling abroad are high paying people.

Therefore, the segment of 3 to 5 star hotels or resorts will be the accommodation chosen by Russians more. Russian holidays are also longer, usually from 7 to 15 days.

Combining resort tourism with culture

Russians are proud of their long-standing cultural traditions as well as being a country with many ancient and modern architectural works. A part of young Russians is also very curious about new things (especially young people), so they often rest in the sea while taking advantage of a combination of visiting a few scenic spots or historical sites, unique culture of the host country.

When coming to Vietnam, many visitors combine to visit Cambodia, Laos or Thailand and China to open their eyes.

Relationships have a great impact on the tourist psychology of Russians

The Russians say: “One person cannot become an army in battle”. They always trust and rely on the help of friends and family. Therefore, they often travel in groups and travel decisions are often consulted by the members.

Some psychological characteristics of Russian tourists can also be mentioned as:

• They are people with good life skills but lack of respect and sense of law observance is not very good;
• They are simple in living, simple in eating. Russians like roasted, grilled, minced meat, baked, fried or braised with sauce, do not like rare dishes. In processing often use a lot of butter, cream. Russians love to drink spirits, especially in winter. Before eating they often drink Vodka, Cognac, Whiskey, then drink light alcohol. They abstain from eating pigeons and do not eat dogs;
• In communication, Russians are quite open and quite interesting. But due to character quite strong, they are not afraid to speak their mind straight so they can be a bit outspoken…

With the above analysis, tourist destinations in general and especially tourist and resort destinations in sea and island areas in particular can find ways to approach and increase the experience for potential groups of tourists. this function, so that it is suitable to the size of the business and the economic situation – tourism in the locality.

Reference from the master’s thesis: “SOME SOLUTIONS TO ATTRACT RUSSIA TOURISM MARKET TO VIETNAM (Le Viet Ha, Hanoi National University, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2011)