CONSCIOUS TRAVEL: WHO TRAVELS TODAY, WHY, AND HOW TO DESIGN A RESORT FOR A NEW, ACTIVE AUDIENCE

According to reports and forecasts from leading travel services, the share of domestic tourism in Russia is steadily growing, while the profile of the modern traveler is completely different from what it was just ten years ago. How do the latest tourism trends influence audience demands? Why, when planning resort areas, is it necessary to have as clear an idea as possible not only of where and how, but also for whom they will be created? These questions are easy to answer if you have dozens of successful projects in various regions of the country from Krasnodar Krai to Kamchatka under your belt, and if you consider recreational areas not only as profitable business but also as an opportunity to improve the environment and contribute to the formation of a new, sustainable type of tourism. In this article, FANTALIS Architects shares current experience in creating tourist centers and managing hotels in natural areas.

Holidays Without Harm

Consciousness is perhaps the main trend of the last decade, and of course, it could not help but affect the tourism sector. Modern travelers think not only about what impressions they will get from their future trip, but also about what impact they will have on the place they are going to. Today, tourists are keenly interested in issues of safe interaction with ecosystems. For example, many refuse air travel, trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Also, when choosing routes, supporters of sustainable tourism care about the economic benefits for local communities and are much more willing to choose local facilities for accommodation and recreation, rather than hotels and restaurants of chain giants.

They want to preserve nature, not reformat it to suit themselves, communicate with people, not read online guides, learn about local attractions and crafts first-hand, try products produced in the region, in a word, proceed not from the position of "benefit for the tourist," but from the position of "benefit for all."

That is why right now, when the demand for travel in Russia is so high, regional authorities, investors, and developers must clearly understand which trends to follow in the coming years to meet the needs of this constantly growing audience.

Careful Towards Self and the World

The era of mass tourism with group trips and "all-inclusive" package tours is becoming a thing of the past. Modern tourists know exactly what they want, so travel companies are moving towards individualizing their products.

On vacation, most conscious travelers want not just to abstractly "relax," but strive to recover both physically and psychologically, to become the best version of themselves, at least for a while. To achieve this, the industry must provide them with every opportunity in the most personalized form. According to research, these needs can best be met specifically within the framework of eco- and wellness tourism. The demand for a digital detox also remains stable, as the level of fatigue from digital noise in cities is very high.

This means that already at the planning stage of tourist complexes, it is necessary to create not just places for temporary accommodation, but a full-fledged environment in which tourists can try out all options for interacting with the surrounding reality. Ecological trails, gastro tours, wellness programs, getting to know local culture and traditions not only or so much in museums, but "first-hand," at author's excursions, festivals, and master classes—all this is part of the "gold standard" for a new format of resort areas.

Cluster Approach

The Russian tourism market is still at the very beginning of the path to forming an environment that can meet all the needs of the new audience. But already now, savvy developers are trying to introduce elements of well-thought-out recreational infrastructure into their projects: parks are being laid out in coastal residential complexes, considering landscape specifics, spa centers are being built, restaurants with dishes from local products are appearing. Entire tourist clusters are also being created, grown around one center of attraction.

Thus, in Abrau-Durso, around the champagne wine factory, a real hospitality industry has formed with refined gastronomic programs, themed excursions, spa, water sports and entertainment based on the lake of the same name, and regular cultural events and festivals, attracting tens of thousands of tourists annually. The investment attractiveness of resort real estate is only growing, which means that in Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, developers should already use the most effective method of designing such zones—build hotels, apartments, and villas, correlating property categories with distance from the coastline. Premium private villas can be located as close to the sea as possible, and multi-storey hotels on the second and third lines.

Of course, we have room to strive: recall the resort zones of Italy, France with their terraced planning, when beautiful views of the sea or mountains open up from almost any point, and the regional tourism clusters in Tuscany or Bordeaux have made these areas desirable destinations for travelers from all over the world. However, even now, we can certainly be inspired by examples of the best players in the industry and create recreational places of a similar or even better order.

Year-Round Operation and Interaction

An important starting point in the formation of a tourist cluster is its payback, and this parameter directly depends on seasonality. Well-formed infrastructure around hotels, villas, and other accommodation facilities can guarantee constant tourist interest, including during the off-season period.

The already mentioned trend towards partnership and interaction with local residents also works to ensure year-round occupancy. On one hand, a resort area can become a growth point for local business; on the other, if the resort is integrated into the context of the interests of the region's residents, they themselves will regularly visit it regardless of seasonal tourist influxes.

Non-Standard Potential and Surrounding Context

Many regions of Russia are beginning to realize their tourist potential: Kamchatka and the Murmansk region, Altai and the Baikal coast, Karelia and the White Sea region, Elbrus and Adygea can be no less interesting for tourists than the traditional south of Russia. The task of modern architects and developers is to integrate tourist infrastructure as harmoniously as possible into the local context, without disturbing the balance, but on the contrary, highlighting the advantages and beauty of nature, landscape, and environment. It is also important to approach zoning keeping the profile of your tourist in mind: sports and educational centers—for families with children, spa and wellness—for citizens tired of noisy metropolises, eco-trails and multi-day hiking routes—for groups of active travelers, etc.

For the sustainable development of tourist clusters in Russia, the introduction of many new approaches and complex solutions is needed in the field of urban planning norms, environmental policy, and, in fact, in the sphere of development itself. But it is precisely a clear understanding of the demands of the modern audience and new tourism trends that can help this segment grow and create new centers of tourist attraction.

Author: Anna Kulikova, Partner at FANTALIS Architects
Source: https://hotelier.pro/news/item/osoznannye-puteshestviya-kto-i-zachem-puteshestvuet-segodnya-i-kak-sproektirovat-kurort-dlya-novoy-aktivnoy-auditorii-/