Russian Tourism Enterprises’ Marketing Innovations to Meet the COVID-19 Challenges

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of a study aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the Russian tourism market and how local tourism enterprises respond to challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Summarizing their experience of doing business in crisis conditions can allow a more efficient response to similar crises in the future and contribute to a more resilient tourism sector in the aftermath of the pandemic. In order to meet the research objective, we combined various sources of operational statistical information about the state of the industry with the results of a survey conducted in the Nizhny Novgorod region and in-depth interviews with representatives of tourism enterprises. We found that Russian tourism enterprises have proved to be quite resilient by looking for additional opportunities, and paying special attention to staff development and team consolidation. However, there are problems faced by local tourism enterprises in obtaining state support. Therefore, tourism enterprises that rely on themselves and innovate to create services and products adjusted to new customer needs and preferences have a better chance to survive. In particular, the wider use of digital marketing instruments helps SMEs to propose a new value for customers aligned to the new requirements and trends in tourism, such as travel security, prevailing interest in individual and short-term trips for short distances, and the sharply increased demand for domestic tourism destinations.