Russians Spend Too Much Abroad Because They Like to Invest in Themselves

Russians began to spend a lot less abroad in 2009, a new research conducted by Citibank said. Many Russians started to spend less on purchasing jewelry and household goods while visiting European countries and the United States. The USA, Italy, Britain and France are the countries, where Russians traditionally spend most of their money.

The spending in terms of foreign currency reduced from 19.4 to 18 percent, but increased in terms of the Russian ruble because of the devaluation of the national currency, RBC Daily reports

Specialists of the bank said that many Russians did not change their consumer habits in foreign countries, though. However, many of them increased their ruble spending in most popular tourist destinations.

The crisis mostly affected the growth of the purchasing capacity of Russian tourists in other countries: the growth was the lowest in five years. Many Russian holiday-makers prefer not to spend too much currency because of the devaluation of the Russian ruble. The tourists prefer not to spend on jewelry and household goods, whereas the demand on many other categories – hotels, airlines, department stores, etc – remains the same and even grows.

The United States is the country where Russians spend most, and the nation has been taking the leadership for five consecutive years at this point. Many Russian tourists arrange individual tours to the country, which require more spending and extra transport costs. Italy comes second: a great deal of Russians travel to Milan to enjoy the world-known Italian sales season.

The United Arab Emirates became one of the most popular resort destinations in the world a long time ago. Many wealthy Russian tourists visit the country for shopping too. The nation has acquired the status of a luxury resort recently, which probably explains why the country took the lead in terms of the declining demand on luxury goods and services.

In Turkey, Russians presumably purchase jewelry: 23 percent of all spending in this country falls on jewelry. In Italy, tourists mostly buy shoes and clothes – 41 percent of all spending.

Most Russians prefer to buy clothes when they visit foreign countries. Experts say that Russians will be spending a lot on clothes and shoes in the future too, because the prices on popular world-famous brands are too high in Russia, which makes them unaffordable to many.

Specialists say that Russian will continue to spend a lot abroad, because the crisis has not reached the point when people would stop investing in themselves.

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Author`s name Dmitry Sudakov
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