Moscow, Dec 7 (IANS): The average hotel cost in Russia for this year's New Year holidays increased by 19 per cent from the same period last year, the latest data from analytics firms showed.

The mean cost of short-term rental apartments for the holidays in the 16 largest cities in Russia also rose by 16 per cent year on year to about 8,000 rubles (around 81 US dollars) per day, according to CIAN.Analytics, Xinhua news agency reported.

The price rise is most noticeable in Moscow, where an apartment for a weekend costs 25.7 per cent more than during the previous holiday season, the data showed.

Analysts attributed the price increase to growing demand and limited hotel supply during the New Year holidays.

TravelLine, an online hotel reservation provider, showed that the volume of hotel bookings in popular destinations during the New Year holidays increased by 6.9 to 25.2 per cent year on year.

Thirty-three million tourist trips are expected across Russia in the winter season, up by 13.8 per cent year on year, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov has said.