Tourism in Russia

Domestic tourism

Main article: Domestic tourism in Russia

Hospitality

Main article: Hotel services (Russian market)

Ski resorts

Main article: Ski resorts of Russia

River cruises

Main article: River cruises

Business tourism in Russia

Main article: Business tourism in Russia

Tourism in Moscow

Main article: Tourism in Moscow

Tourism in St. Petersburg

Main article: Tourism in St. Petersburg

Digitalization in the field of tourism

Main article: Digitalization in hotel and resort businesses

National Tourism Portal

Main article: Russia.Travel

Outbound tourism

Visa-free countries

Crisis years of outbound tourism

• 2015 - decrease in tourist travel by 31.3% (to 12.1 million trips)
• 2014 - the number of foreign tourist trips decreased by 4%
• 2009 - 15.5% decrease
• 2001 - minus 6.5%,
• 1999 - 15.6% reduction
• 1998 - minus 24.4%

Foreign tourists in Russia

Main article: Foreign tourists in Russia

National parks in Russia

Main article: National parks in Russia

Portal of digital models of world cultural heritage sites

Geoskan Group of Companies in February 2025 launched the 3D Heritage: Preserving Culture portal with voluminous realistic digital models of world cultural heritage sites. It is aimed at documenting important historical objects, supporting restoration work, developing scientific and educational activities and virtual tourism. This is the first such project for professionals in Russia.

A special portal https://heritage3d.ru/ contains digital copies of historical monuments from all over the world.

2024

Russian tourist flow to the UAE for the year increased to 2 million people

In 2024, the UAE received 2 million tourists from Russia, which was a record figure in recent years. According to Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, who heads the Russian delegation to the Emirates, the flow of travelers has increased significantly amid the expansion of transport links. The number of regular flights between countries increased 1.5 times, which provided additional opportunities for tourist flow. The official announced this on February 16, 2025. Read more here

Rating of regions by tourist flow

In February 2025, Rosstat published data on tourism in Russia. The materials of the department, in particular, contain information on tourist flows in different regions of the country.

Moscow continues to be the most popular tourist destination in Russia. In 2024, the flow of tourists to the capital increased by 5%, from 19.8 million to 20.97 million trips. In second place is the Krasnodar Territory, with 19.1 million trips, which is close to 2023 (19.3 million). The Moscow region closes the top three with 18 million tourists, which is 9% more compared to 2023 (16.4 million).

List of regions of Russia by volume of tourist flow in 2024

In the Ural Federal District, the tourist flow decreased by 7%, amounting to 8.27 million trips, compared with 8.87 million in 2023. The number of tourists has decreased in all regions of the district, with the exception of the Chelyabinsk region. In general, the decline was recorded in five out of ten regions of the Ural-Siberian macro-region. The Sverdlovsk region is still the leader in the number of tourists, whom 3.24 million visited in 2024. In 2023, the figure was 15% higher - 3.78 million. The three most visited regions also included Bashkiria and the Chelyabinsk region. Tourist flow to Bashkortostan decreased by 11%, from 2.18 million to 1.94 million trips, and in the Chelyabinsk region, on the contrary, increased by 6.4%, from 1.65 million to 1.76 million.

The largest increase in tourist flow is observed in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), the Orenburg Region and the Perm Territory. In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the tourist flow increased by 27% - from 1 million to 1.28 million trips. In the Orenburg region, the growth was 25%, from 813 thousand to 1 million, and in the Kama region - 23%, from 1.2 million to 1.48 million. In Udmurtia, the growth was 3%, from 763.4 thousand to 790 thousand.

Among the least popular regions of Russia in 2024 were the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka and the Jewish Autonomous Region. Tourist flow to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug increased by 25%, from 24.8 thousand to 31 thousand trips, to Chukotka - by 21%, from 37.8 thousand to 45.7 thousand. In the Jewish Autonomous Region, tourist flow decreased by 6%, amounting to 60.2 thousand trips.^[1]

Russians began to rest abroad by 7.8% more often, the number of trips reached 29.18 million 10 countries according to the Russian tourist flow

The number of foreign trips of Russian citizens increased by 7.8% in 2024 compared to 2023. In total, the Russians made 29.18 million trips. The leader among the directions was, Turkey which was removed Abkhazia from the first place. In 2024, the flow of tourists to Turkey increased by 11.7%, reaching 6.27 million trips. Such data leads FSB Russia at the beginning of February 2025.

According to RBC, Abkhazia took second place, accepting 5.81 million trips, which is 1.1% more than in 2023. Kazakhstan, which was previously among the top three, showed a decrease of 4.4%, to 2.81 million trips. The United Arab Emirates took fourth position with a 15.6% increase in flow, reaching 1.99 million trips. Significant growth was recorded in trips to China - by 96.5%, to 1.9 million trips, which allowed the country to rise by four positions and take fifth place in the list.

Other popular destinations included Egypt (1.48 million trips, an increase of 15.3%), Georgia (1.35 million, + 21.5%), Thailand (1.32 million, + 24.5%), Armenia (0.97 million, a decrease of 12.5%) and Azerbaijan (0.71 million, + 26.8%). In total, the top 10 destinations accounted for 24.6 million trips, which is 84.3% of the total number of trips.

Turkey is the most popular destination for vacations of Russian tourists abroad. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reports that the main increase in flow fell on Antalya, where the Russians made 3.9 million trips, which is 12.9% more than in 2023. However, a significant part of trips to Turkey fell on transit routes through Istanbul, where Russians flew to transfer to flights to other countries.

The total number of tourist trips, according to the FSB, amounted to 11.6 million, which is 25% more than in 2023 (9.3 million). In addition to Turkey, the UAE, Egypt, China and Thailand were among the popular tourist destinations. ATOR notes that the statistics of the border service record only border crossings and does not always display the real tourist flow, since it does not take into account the final destinations of passengers using connecting flights.^[2]

Dubai updated the record for tourist flow thanks to the Russians

The number of international tourists visiting Dubai in 2024 reached 18.7 million, an increase of 9% compared to 2023. This was announced on February 9, 2025 by the Dubai government. Among the key markets for the emirate was Russia - Russian tourists made 1.99 million trips. Read more here.

The tourist flow of Russians to Europe for the year decreased to 1.4 million people

In 2024, the total Russian tourist flow to Europe, taking into account aviation and ground transport, amounted to about 1.4 million people. This is about 10 times less than in 2019. Such data are given in the review of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), published on February 7, 2025.

It is noted that since 2022, due to the formed geopolitical situation, a large number of Russians have to fly to many foreign resorts by connecting flights. In September 2023, the European Commission banned cars with Russian numbers from entering the EU countries, while neighboring European states stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians and closed entry to tourists with Schengen visas from other countries.

Poland, Krakow

According to ATOR estimates, in 2024, Russians visited Europe (including Britain) by plane through third countries about 0.6 million times. For comparison, in 2019, 9.83 million citizens of the Russian Federation arrived in Europe through aviation transport. Thus, over the years, a 16.4-fold drop, or 94%, has been recorded. About two-thirds of trips (about 400 thousand) to Europe in 2024 were made by Russians through Turkey, and other transfer hubs were used for another 200 thousand visits (in the UAE, Serbia, Morocco, as well as the countries of Transcaucasia and the CIS).

0.8 million Russians got to Europe by land in 2024. The most popular destinations for citizens of the Russian Federation are named Estonia from 510 thousand tourists (of which 70 thousand crossed the border by and cars 440 thousand on foot), Poland with 209 thousand visits (205 thousand per car and 4 thousand on foot Lithuania), with 54 thousand (20 thousand on cars and 34 thousand on foot), with 32 Latvia thousand (22 thousand on cars and 10 thousand on foot), as well as from 16 Norway thousand (all on a car). transport How^[3]

The tourist flow to Mongolia in a year has grown to a new record. Russians took second place

The number of foreign tourists visiting Mongolia in 2024 reached 853.8 thousand people, an increase of 32.6% compared to 2023. Such data in February 2025 was published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Istanbul for the year increased to 2 million people

More than 2 million Russian citizens visited Istanbul in 2024. This was the highest among foreign tourists and exceeded the results of 2023. According to the Consul General of Russia in Istanbul Andrei Buravov, announced on February 7, 2025, Russian tourists retained their leading positions among the guests of the Turkish metropolis. Read more here.

The tourist flow of Russians to Turkey has grown to 6.7 million people. Travel structure

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey recorded an increase in the number of trips of Russian citizens to the country by 6.28% to 6.71 million visits in 2024. This is evidenced by the data of the department, published in early February 2025. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Uzbekistan for the year increased by 20% and reached 870 thousand people

The number of tourists from Russia who visited Uzbekistan in 2024 increased by 20% compared to 2023 and amounted to 870 thousand people. This was announced in January 2025 by the chairman of the tourism committee of the republic Umid Shadiev. According to him, in 2025 it is planned to further increase the tourist flow from Russia, which will overcome the mark of 1 million trips. Read more here.

Tourist flow to Azerbaijan increased by 25.9% thanks to Russians

The number of foreign tourists visiting Azerbaijan in 2024 amounted to 2.627 million people, which is 25.9% more than in 2023. According to the State Committee on Statistics of the Republic in January 2025, the largest share among foreign guests was made up of Russian citizens. Read more here.

Growth of tourist flow to China 2.5 times to 1.95 million people

In 2024, about 1.95 million Russian tourists visited China. This was announced in mid-January 2025 by the executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze. Read more here

Outbound tourism of Russians reached 22 million people

Director of the Association of Tour Operators in the Field of Outbound Tourism "Turpomosch," Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) Alexander Osaulenko announced the departure of 22 million Russian tourists abroad in 2024. These data were presented on January 22, 2025 at a press conference in Moscow.

According to Interfax, out of the total number of travelers, 10 million people used separate services of tour operators when organizing trips. Complex tourist packages acquired 2.4-2.5 million citizens for a total of ₽248,9 billion. Accurate statistics will become available after April 15, when travel companies provide official reports.

22 million Russians traveled abroad in 2024

The organized outbound tourism market reached 86% of 2019, when 2.8 million tourist packages were sold. The average cost of a tourist product in 2024 amounted to ₽102 thousand, which demonstrates more than double growth over a five-year period. The annual increase in the average check in international areas reached 21%.

Director of "Tourist Assistance" Alexander Osaulenko noted the stable work of tour operators in the field of outbound tourism. Over the past four years, the composition of the association of tour operators has remained almost unchanged, numbering about 400 member companies with an annual rotation of no more than 6-8%.

In connection with the opening of new directions in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East in 2024, additional companies entered the market, including large organizations with banking affiliation, providing financial responsibility with bank guarantees.

The Association of Tour Operators notes that the most popular among Russian tourists in 2024 were five foreign destinations: Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, the UAE and Abkhazia. Over the past seven years, there has been no need for emergency evacuation of tourists from any countries.

The final statistics for the tourism industry for 2024 will be formed on the basis of the reports of travel companies, which should be provided by mid-April 2025.^[4]

Russian tourist flow to Georgia increased and remained the largest

The National Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Economy of Georgia in mid-January 2025 reported an increase in the number of tourists from Russia by 0.2% to 1.42 million people in 2024. This made it possible to maintain a leading position among all countries in the number of tourist visits. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Japan doubled to 99 thousand people in a year

The Japanese National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in January 2025 published statistics according to which the number of Russian tourists visiting Japan in 2024 reached 99.3 thousand people, an increase of 2.3 times compared to 2023. Read more here

Tourist flow from Russia to Maldives in a year set a new record

In mid-January 2025, the Maldives Immigration Service published a statistical report, according to which the number of Russian tourists in 2024 reached an all-time high of 225,205 visits, which is 7.7% more than in 2023 and 1.25% more than the previous record in 2021. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Mauritius soared by 84.3% in a year

In 2024, the number of tourists from Russia visiting the island of Mauritius increased by 84.3%, reaching 28,750 visits. Such data in January 2025 was published by the Statistics Office of Mauritius. This figure was 2.57 times the level of 2019, becoming a record in history. Russia also entered the TOP-10 of the key entry markets of Mauritius for the first time, taking ninth place. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Cuba in a year has grown to a new record

In mid-January 2025, it became known that the number of Russian tourists who visited Cuba in 2024 reached a historic maximum of 185.8 thousand people, which is 1% more than in 2023 and 5% more than in 2019. Read more here.

Russia took second place in tourist flow to Sri Lanka

Russian tourists made 201.9 thousand trips to Sri Lanka in 2024, taking second place among all countries in terms of the number of visits after India. TAdviser got acquainted with such data in January 2025. Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Vietnam for the year increased by 84.9%

The number of tourist trips from Russia to Vietnam reached 232.3 thousand visits in 2024, which is 84.9% more than in 2023. Such data were published by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia in January 2024. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Thailand in 2024 increased by 18%

The number of Russian tourists visiting Thailand reached 1.7 million people in 2024, which is 18% more than in 2023. Such data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand became known in early January 2025. Read more here.

The annual tourist flow of Russians to Vietnam has grown to 125 thousand people

In 2023, Russians made about 125 thousand tourist trips to Vietnam. This is three times more than in 2022, when the indicator was estimated at about 40 thousand. Such data are reflected in the official statistics of Vietnam, disclosed in early December 2024. Read more here.

Russia, China and Mongolia have agreed to create a single tourist route, the Great Tea Way. Card

Representatives of Russia, China and Mongolia have reached an agreement on the creation of a single brand of the international tourist route "The Great Tea Way," which will take place along the historical trade route of the 18th century. The decision was made at the eighth meeting of the heads of tourism departments of the three countries in Ulan-Ude on October 30, 2024. Read more here.

2023

Growth of tourist flow from Russia to Armenia by 33% to 1 million trips

At the end of 2023, the tourist flow from Russia to Armenia increased by 33%. Russian tourists have made more than 1 million trips to this country. Such figures are given in the materials of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, with which TAdviser got acquainted in early October 2024. Read more here

Annual tourist flow of Russians to Indonesia increased by 15%

In 2023, about 161 thousand Russian tourists entered Indonesia, which is 15% more compared to 2022. Moreover, almost half of the guests from Russia took the opportunity on the spot to extend the 30-day visa for the same period. This is stated in the materials with which TAdviser got acquainted on September 11, 2024. Read more here

Russians ranked fifth in visiting China

The Russians took fifth place in terms of attendance China in 2023. This was announced at the beginning of September 2024 by the deputy head Ministry of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach. More. here

Growth of tourist flow to South Korea by 2.5 times

In 2023, approximately 158.8 thousand Russian tourists visited South Korea. This is about 2.5 times (165%) more than the previous year. Such a significant increase is associated with interest in Korean culture - music, cinema, games, as well as the popularity of excursion, educational and medical tourism to the country. Such data on April 1, 2024 is provided by the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT). Read more here.

Russian tourist flow to Saudi Arabia doubled in a year

In 2023, tourists from Russia visited Saudi Arabia 106 thousand times - this is twice as much as in 2022, when the number of such trips was 55 thousand. This was announced in March 2024 by RBC with reference to the director of the tourism department of Saudi Arabia Fahd Hamiddadin. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Greece for the year decreased by only 1%

In 2023, the tourist flow from Russia to Greece amounted to 35.7 thousand people, which is 1% less than a year earlier. This is evidenced by the data of the Bank of Greece, published in February 2024. Read more here.

The number of trips of Chinese tourists to Russia over the year has grown 4 times

The number of Chinese trips Russia in 2023 reached 790 thousand against 130 thousand a year earlier. Especially impressive growth was noted in the field of tourism - from 800 to 199.8 thousand trips (an increase of four times). This follows from the data Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation published in February 2024.

Despite this jump, the Chinese took only fifth place in terms of the total number of foreigners entering the Russian Federation. The leaders are citizens of Kazakhstan (3.16 million trips in 2023), Uzbekistan (3.11 million) and Tajikistan (2.15 million), who travel to Russia within the framework of various goals, from work and study to tourism.

In its statistics, the FSB border service includes foreign and Russian citizens crossing the state border for the purposes of the visit: business, workers, tourist, private, educational, permanent residence, as well as trips of personnel and military personnel serving vehicles. According to the methodology, if the same foreign citizen repeatedly entered the country during the reporting period, he is counted as many times as he crossed the state border in one direction. Therefore, it is correct to talk about the number of trips, and not about the number of citizens, RBC clarifies.

According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), most of the visits indicated as tourist, in fact, do not belong to classical tourism.

It must be understood that people formally received a visa for tourism, but did not go for it - for example, for business or personal affairs, and not for sightseeing or recreation, - explained in ATOR.

According to the World Without Borders Association, by the end of 2023, less than 50 thousand Chinese tourists arrived in Russia through a visa-free channel. This is 24 times less than before the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.^[5]

Russian tourist flow to Tajikistan soared by 92.8% over the year

In 2023, 262.4 thousand tourists from Russia visited Tajikistan, which is 92.8% more than a year earlier. Such data in February 2024 led to the Committee for the Development of Tourism under the Government of Tajikistan. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Qatar tripled in a year

In 2023, 69 thousand tourists from Russia visited Qatar, which is three times more than a year earlier. The Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) cited such data in February 2024. Read more here.

Egypt visited 1.2 million Russian tourists

Egypt in 2023 was visited by 1.2 million Russian tourists. Such data in February 2023 was cited by the Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko on the eve of the Day of the Diplomatic Worker. Read more here.

Russians made 27 million trips abroad per year (+ 17 %)

In 2023, Russians made 27 million trips abroad, which is 17% more than a year earlier. This is evidenced by the data FSB released in early January 2024.

According to statistics from the department, the number of trips of Russian citizens abroad for tourist purposes increased by almost 35% in 2023 and reached 9.3 million trips. In 2022, this number was 6.8 million trips.

Among the countries where Russians most often traveled for tourist purposes in 2023 were, among other things, and Turkey UAE. Egypt Thailand In addition, the countries of neighboring countries were in the top ten:,, and. Armenia Uzbekistan Azerbaijan Among Kazakhstan the countries of non-CIS countries, the most visited for tourist purposes were and, Cuba China according to the materials of the FSB.

The service also reported on the increase in tourist flow in the Russian Federation. According to these data, in 2023, the foreign tourist flow Russia in grew 2.9 times compared to 2022. In 2023, 580 thousand foreigners indicated the purpose of the visit to Russia tourism. Most often, tourists come to Russia from,, China Germany Turkey,,, UAE, and Iran Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Kazakhstan.

As RBC explains, the FSB Border Service Statistics takes into account the crossings of the state border by foreign and Russian citizens for the purposes of the visit: business, workers, tourist, private, educational, permanent residence, as well as trips of personnel and military personnel serving vehicles. According to the methodology, if the same citizen repeatedly entered the country during the reporting period, he is counted as many times as he crossed the state border in one direction. Thus, it is correct to talk about the number of trips, and not about the number of citizens, the publication adds.^[6]

Tourist flow in Russia exceeded the pre-pandemic period - more than 75 million people

At the end of 2023, the tourist flow in Russia amounted to more than 75 million people, which exceeds the figure for 2019, when there was no COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, due to which the tourism market declined sharply in the Russian Federation and around the world. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko named the size of domestic tourist flows in 2023 on January 21, 2024.

The Ministry of Economic Development confirmed that Russians are increasingly traveling around the country, but by January 22, 2024, they cite data for incomplete 2023: in January-November 2023, the number of tourist trips in the Russian Federation increased by 20%, or by 12 million people. Only the demand for the North Caucasus among tourists has doubled. At the same time, the geography of trips is expanding, the department said. In 2022, the tourist flow across the country amounted to 73.1 million people, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development said.

According to the statistics provided by MTS Travel based on Big Data, Dagestan showed the greatest demand among tourists in 2023, where 37% more guests went than in 2022. Moscow, Krasnodar Territory and St. Petersburg remained the leaders in attendance. They took 9.5%, 9% and 5% of all trips, respectively.

Vice-President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia Sergei Romashkin predicts that by the end of 2024 the market may grow by another 15%. The number of bookings in the first half of January 2024 is already 35% higher than in 2023. Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the goal for internal tourist flow by 2030 is to achieve an indicator of 140 million.

Ilya Umansky, President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), announced on January 21, 2024 that the number of tourist trips of Russians to their country in 2023 amounted to 86 million, an increase of 20% compared to 2022. In turn, Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the data on the tourist flow for 2023 at the PCT "differ from those previously announced, and it would be necessary to verify these figures."^[7]

Russia remained the leader in the number of tourists in Georgia

In 2023, the Russian tourist flow to Georgia reached 1.18 million people, which is 31.1% more than a year earlier. This is evidenced by data from the National Statistics Service of Georgia, published at the end of January 2024. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Uzbekistan for the year increased by 25.8%

In 2023, 714.2 thousand Russians visited Uzbekistan, while in 2022 this figure was 567.7 thousand. Thus, the flow of tourists from the Russian Federation to the republic increased by 25.8%. This is evidenced by the data of the statistics agency of Uzbekistan, which were released at the end of January 2024 and which are based on the recommendations of the World Tourism Organization. The statistics include such visiting goals as rest, study, business trips, visiting relatives, treatment and commercial goals. Read more here.

The growth of the Russian flow of tourists to the Maldives

In 2023, 209,146 Russian tourists visited the Maldives, which is 3.6% more than a year earlier, when 201,954 arrivals were measured from the Russian Federation. 2021 remains a record year, when 220,424 tourists from the Russian Federation visited the Maldives. This was reported in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) in January 2024. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Cuba broke the pre-pandemic record

In 2023, 184 thousand people from Russia visited Cuba, which is 3.4 times more than a year earlier. The Russian tourist flow to Cuba broke the record for 2019 (178 thousand people), when there was no COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic yet. This is evidenced by the data of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), which with refers to the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba. Read more here.

Tourist flow from Russia to Seychelles increased by a quarter

In 2023, 38,172 tourists from Russia visited Seychelles, which is 24.8% more than a year earlier (30,573 trips), and also 18% higher than the record result of 2021 (31,392 visits). This is evidenced by the data of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), published on January 11, 2024. Read more here.

The tourist flow of Russians to Antalya for the year increased by 14.1% to 3.46 million people

On January 1 to December 31, 2023, 3,461,762 Russian tourists visited Antalya, which is 14.1% more than in 2022. Such statistics in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) led in early January 2024. Read more here.

The number of trips of Russians abroad per year increased by 20%. Turkey and Thailand are the most popular destinations

The number of trips of Russians abroad in 2023 increased by about 20% compared to the previous year. Turkey and Thailand have become the most popular destinations for tourism. This is evidenced by the data of Russian mobile operators, which were released on December 31, 2023.

According to Tele2, in 2023 the number of trips of Russians abroad increased by 21% compared to the previous year. MTS data indicate an increase of 25%, and MegaFon notes an increase of 17%. It is noted that among MTS customers the share of those who prefer non-CIS countries has increased - by 39% year-on-year, reaching 59%.

Turkey remains the most popular destination among Russian tourists. The share of trips to Turkey among subscribers MTS Travel was 23%, and over the year this figure increased by 14%. Tele2 also notes an increase in interest in Turkey, and in second place was Abkhazia, which has become three percent more popular. The demand for Latin American countries according to "" MegaFon grew by 114%, followed by countries Asia with an increase in travel by 60%.

Cuba has become 2.7 times more popular with Tele2, and the UAE and Egypt are also in increased demand. After the COVID-19 pandemic, tourists returned to Southeast Asia, where trips increased fivefold, and the flow to Thailand increased sixfold after the resumption of direct flights.

According to RBC, the trips of Russians abroad were estimated on the basis of impersonal data from mobile operators MTS (subscriber database as of the end of the third quarter of 2023 - 80.8 million) and MegaFon (subscriber database according to the latest available data for the first half of 2023 amounted to 75.8 million) roaming.

MTS Travel reports that China returned to the top ten popular countries by the end of 2023, where trips increased eightfold.^[8]

614 thousand tourists to Thailand in the first 3 months

The tourist flow from Russia to Thailand at the end of 2023 may exceed the pre-pandemic level (1.47 million Russians) and amount to 1.5 million people - ATOR. For the first three and a half months of this year - from January 1 to April 10 - Thailand received 614,338 tourists from Russia.

Growth of tourist flow to Thailand 10 times to 203 thousand people in January

Russia took second place in terms of tourist flow to Thailand in January 2023, the number of tourists visiting the country increased 10 times compared to the same period last year to 203 thousand travelers.

2022

Russia took third place in the tourist flow in the Seychelles

In 2022, about 30.6 thousand Russian tourists visited the Seychelles, as a result of which the Russian Federation took third place in terms of tourist flow in the country after Germany (44,626 trips) and France (44,393 visits). Next are tourists from Italy (18,394) and the UAE (16,918). In total, more than 332 thousand foreign tourists arrived on the archipelago at the end of 2022. Such data were brought to the Bureau of Statistics of the Seychelles in January 2023. Read more here.

The number of trips of Russians to the UAE doubled

According to the FSB Border Service for 2022, the Russians made 1.2 million trips to the country. This is twice as high as 2021 and 21.2% more than before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in 2019. Such data were released in April 2023. Read more here.

The number of trips of Russians abroad increased by 2 million

In 2022, citizens of the Russian Federation made 23.2 million trips abroad, which is 2 million more than a year earlier. This follows from the statistics of the FSB Border Service of Russia, which was published on February 7, 2023.

The most popular destinations among Russian tourists in 2022:

• Turkey (3.7 million trips);
• UAE (909.7 thousand);
• Egypt (761, 5 thousand);
• Armenia (295.7 thousand);
• Thailand (171.4 thousand);
• Uzbekistan (131.6 thousand);
• Kazakhstan (113.3 thousand);
• Maldives (94.5 thousand);
• Azerbaijan (92.7 thousand);
• Dominicana (76.1 thousand).

According to statistics from the FSB Border Service, for the purpose of tourism in 2022, Russians made 6.9 million trips abroad. Most of these trips occurred in the third quarter - 2.4 million. In the first and second quarters, approximately the same number of tourists went abroad - 1.17 and 1.16 million, respectively. In the fourth quarter, 2.15 million tourists left.

Turkey also leads among travel destinations for Russians with different goals - 4.8 million. Also on this list are Abkhazia (4.2 million), Kazakhstan (2.7 million), UAE (1.2 million), Egypt (947 thousand).

Immediately in several countries of the post-Soviet space, the number of trips from Russia became a record in five years. In addition to Kazakhstan, these are Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. There is no data on the departure of Russian citizens to Belarus in the statistics of the FSB.

As the general director of the hotel booking service MTS Travel"" Vadim Melnikov noted, about 86% of adult Russians who traveled in 2022 did not travel abroad, at the same time, the share of citizens who made only trips abroad was 2%. He explained that the service counted the number of adult travelers, making a sample of sim cards MTS those who crossed the home region and remained outside it for more than one night.^[9]

Tourist flow from Russia abroad increased by 20% to 9.5 million trips

In 2022, Russians made 9.5 million tourist trips abroad, which is 20% more than a year earlier, when the figure was measured at 7.5 million. For comparison, in 2019 the number of trips exceeded 19 million. This was announced on December 27, 2022 by the executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze.

According to her, Turkey (5.3 million trips), Abkhazia (1.1 million), the United Arab Emirates (850 000 - 900 000) and Thailand (410,000) were the most popular among Russian tourists in 2022. The executive director of ATOR recalled that direct flights from Russia by the end of 2022 are available to 32 states, including the CIS countries.

The cost of foreign tourism services in Russia in 2022 increased by 53.95% compared to 2021, Rosstat reported.

ATOR believes that a noticeable increase in Russian tourist flow abroad is associated with the abolition of coronavirus restrictions in most states, the resumption of charters for winter destinations, an increase in flights to Egypt and the UAE, as well as the continuity of flights with Turkey.

The inbound tourist flow to Russia in 2022 decreased by 95% compared to 2021 and amounted to about 180 thousand trips. Most often, tourists from Germany, Iran and Turkey visited the Russian Federation. To stimulate the entry tourist flow, it is necessary to launch electronic visas and resolve the issue of payment for foreign tourists, Lomidze noted.

More than 1 million tourists to the UAE, including 758 thousand to Dubai

The tourist flow between Russia and the UAE in 2022 exceeded the pre-pandemic level and amounted to more than 1 million people. At the beginning of 2023, Russia and the Emirates connect more than 200 regular flights a week.

The Russian tourist flow to Dubai in 2022 exceeded the pre-pandemic level, in 2022 the emirate was visited by 758 thousand tourists from the Russian Federation - ATOR.

Increase in the number of tourists to Uzbekistan 3 times to 568 thousand people

The number of tourists arriving in Uzbekistan from Russia in 2022 increased 3 times compared to 2021, to 568 thousand people - the Uzbek State Committee.

Russians became the leader of the tourist flow in Antalya

Most often, Antalya in 2022 was visited by tourists from Russia - their flow exceeded 3 million people. This was announced in January 2023 by the DHA agency with reference to the chairman of the working group on tourism of the Antalya city council Recep Yavuz. Read more here.

The flow of tourists from Russia to Thailand increased 14 times to 435 thousand people

The tourist flow from Russia to Thailand in 2022 increased by more than 14 times compared to 2021 - up to 435 thousand people - ATOR.

Spain visitors only 200 thousand Russians, 84% less than in 2019

In 2022, only about 200 thousand Russians visited Spain, which is 84% less than the pre-pandemic 2019 (more than 1.3 million).

Mongolia received 145 thousand Russian tourists. Growth of 77 times

Mongolia became the leader in the growth of the flow of Russian tourists in 2022. According to Rosstat, the flow of Russians to this country has grown 77 times over the year. For comparison, Thailand, beloved by Russians, received an increase in tourist flow from Russia by 11.8 times, and Georgia - by 7 times.

Russians are the second most tourists in the Maldives after Hindus

By November 2022, the Russians took second place in terms of the total tourist flow to the Maldives since the beginning of the year and firmly fixed themselves in one of the leadership positions (178,934 tourists), displacing the British to the third line of the rating. The first place was taken by Indian tourists.

4th place in the number of tourists to Israel - 160 thousand people

Russia in 2022 again entered the top five countries in terms of tourist flow to Israel, 160 thousand tourists arrived from the Russian Federation (4th place).

Growth of tourist flow to Azerbaijan by 80%

The tourist flow from Russia Azerbaijan to in 2022 increased by about 80%, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in November 2022.

About 30 thousand tourists visited Vietnam

At the end of 2022, about 30 thousand Russians visited Vietnam for tourist purposes.

Tourist flow from Russia to Japan fell 11.5 times

The tourist flow from Russia to Japan in 2022 fell 11.5 times - ATOR.

77% of Russian residents have not traveled abroad over the past 5 years, 95% - over the past year

VTsIOM, September 2022:

• 29% of Russians have a passport,
• Schengen visas - 2%.
• 77% of Russian residents have not traveled abroad over the past 5 years.

Turkey and Abkhazia dominate the segment of outbound tourism in the summer

The collapse of outbound tourism to Thailand

Before the pandemic Covid-19 in 2020-2021 Thailand , about 1.5 million Russians visited the year. In 2022, this figure fell to a minimum: 65 thousand people in January - June.

Preparing a bill to abolish value added tax for five years

The Government of the Russian Federation introduced to the State Duma the second package of bills to support citizens and business The measures relate to the support of the construction and transport industries, hotel business and tourism, IT companies, simplify the import of medicines into Russia, and also introduce a number of measures to protect the savings of citizens. The State Duma announced this on its website on March 10, 2022.

It is proposed to exempt the hotel business from value added tax for five years. This will affect hotel owners, as well as investors who build and lease and manage tourist facilities (hotels and other accommodation facilities). The decision will help support the industry, attract new investors and solve one of the main problems of Russian tourism - the shortage of high-quality hotels. Read more here.

2021

The most visited countries by Russian tourists

In 2021, Russian tourists made more than 10.1 million trips abroad, which corresponds to 47.2% of the total number of foreign trips for any purpose. This is evidenced by the data of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), published in mid-February 2022.

Most often in 2021, tourists from the Russian Federation visited:

• Turkey - 4.7 million trips, 46.5% of the total tourist flow);
• Abkhazia - 1.5 million (14.8%;
• Egypt - 1 million (10.4%)
• UAE - 612.8 thousand trips;
• Cyprus - 560.7 thousand;
• Greece - 235.2 thousand,
• Maldives - 222.4 thousand;
• Dominican Republic - 179 thousand;
• Croatia - 145 thousand.
• Cuba - 144.2 thousand.

The combined share of the five leading countries (Turkey, Abkhazia, Egypt, UAE and Cyprus) amounted to 83.3% of the total outbound tourist flow in 2021.

It is noted that in 2021, 39.5% of trips were to the near abroad. That is, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, other countries of the post-Soviet space, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russians made another 2.85 million trips to non-CIS countries. However, everything is mainly with non-tourist goals: workers, training, private visits, and so on.

In total, according to the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, in 2021, Russians made 21.4 million trips abroad with all the goals of the visit. This is 51.4% more than in 2020, but still 55.4% less than in 2019 (48 million trips abroad).

In 2021, Russians had the opportunity to visit 32 countries. The executive director of ATOR Maya Lomidze , in a conversation TASS with, noted that few foreign countries in 2021 managed to surpass the indicators of 2019. The formal leader here Tanzania is a 1227% increase compared to 2019, and this despite the fact that the direction was closed in April 2021 and was never opened. Such a strong growth is explained by the short-term effect of the low base and the lack of alternatives at that time, she added.^[10]

2020

70% reduction in outbound tourism due to COVID-19 pandemic

2019

How much Russia is dependent on tourism:% of the industry in GDP

Russia rose in the world ranking in the field of tourism from 43rd to 39th place

On September 5, 2019 consulting , Strategy Partners announced that Russian Federation it was up 4 points from the previous report on the competitiveness of countries in the field of travel and (tourism T&T). She was ranked 39th, and her rating was 4.3 points. This is evidenced by The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, released by the World economic Forum (WEF). The research partners were the Eurasian Institute for Competitiveness and Strategy Partners (part of the ecosystem). Sberbank

The best Russian indicators that influenced the overall rating were "Health and Hygiene" (6th place in the rating), "Price Competitiveness" (27th place), "Motor Transport Technologies" (23rd place) and "Cultural Heritage and Business Travel" (18th place). The respondents called visa difficulties the worst conditions for the development of tourism, as a result, according to International Openness, Russia was in 123rd place, between Pakistan and Egypt. The experts of the fund and the level of security in the country called low, here Russia is in 98th place between Tanzania and Argentina, the level of political stability (105th place) and the priority of tourism for the Russian government (86th place).

Among the weaknesses that hinder the development of tourism, there are barriers associated with visa procedures for foreign tourists, as well as poor development and poor quality of basic tourist infrastructure in the regions, including hotels, quality of tourist services, transport infrastructure, etc. Also, the effectiveness of the state policy for the development of tourism in Russia is still quite low, "said Alexei Obrazhnykh, project manager in the Russian Federation and partner of Strategy Partners.

Traditionally, the economies of the countries were evaluated according to four indicators: "Favorable Environment," "Policy and Favorable Opportunities for Travel and Tourism," "Infrastructure," "Natural and Cultural Resources." These sections consist of a total of 14 sub-clauses, each with its own rating score.

In the countries of the post-Soviet space, the Russian Federation showed the greatest growth, for the first time in two years being in first place. According to the criterion "Natural and cultural resources," Russia took 34th place in terms of natural resources and 18th in terms of cultural resources. According to the criterion "Politics and favorable opportunities for travel and tourism," the country was in 105th place.

The high performance of the Russian Federation is noted in the section "Infrastructure." So, in terms of the quality of tourism infrastructure, growth occurred by 47 positions - from 116th place to 69th. The country's best indicator in this area in terms of air transport is 23rd place. Russia ranks one of the highest in the world in the subsection "Health and Hygiene" - 6th place.

As for the operability of information and telecommunication technologies, here Russia ranks 48th, competing with Hungary and Thailand.

In the future, we can expect an improvement in Russia's position in the ranking, a potentially positive role can be played here by the developed tourism development program, including measures to reduce barriers to attracting foreign tourists, increasing the availability and quality of tourism infrastructure. Also, the role of regions and cities of the country, which focus on the promotion and development of their tourist clusters, is increasing in the development of tourism potential, "added Alexey Festive, partner at Strategy Partners.

10 outbound tourism countries in the 1st half of the year

Rosstat statistics on travel of Russians in the first half of 2019:

1. Turkey - 2,649,000 people

2. Abkhazia - 1,852,000 people

3. Finland - 1,644,000 people

4. Kazakhstan - 1,371,000 people

5. China - 1,077,000 people

6. Ukraine - 1,057,000 people

7. Estonia - 847,000 people

8. Thailand - 654,000

9. Georgia - 630,000 people

10. Germany - 628,000

Russians entering China will read correspondence in instant messengers

On May 27, 2019, it became known that smartphones of Russian tourists will be inspected at Chinese airports. Migration authorities will be able to check the contents of mobile devices, including correspondence in instant messengers, to make sure that the category of the issued visa and the real purpose of the trip comply. Read more here.

2018

Tourism revenue - $9 billion

2015: Decrease in the number of tourist trips by 31% to 12.1 million

2015 turned out to be the worst year in the entire history of the outbound tourism business in Russia, the Russian Union of Travel Industry notes.

The total departure of Russians abroad decreased by almost 20%, amounting to 36 million 815.8 thousand trips, Rosstat said. In 2014, compared to 2013, the decrease was 15%.

According to Rosstat, travel abroad for tourism in 2015 decreased by 31.3% to 12 million 107.19 thousand trips^[11].

General Director of Intourist Viktor Topolkaraev predicts a fall in the outbound tourism market in 2016 to 5.5-6 million people, subject to the opening of Egypt for Russian tourists. Otherwise, the fall will be more significant.

All foreign destinations in the tourist market in Russia showed a negative result at the end of 2015. There is only one exception - Lithuania, which added almost 24%.

Turkey and Egypt, closed to Russians in November 2015, have so far retained the top two positions in the ranking of the most popular destinations and have not even become leaders in reducing indicators. Turkey lost 19% (in 2014 it was + 6%), Egypt - minus 28% (+ 34% in 2014), the PCT notes.

The first positions on the dynamics of reducing tourist flow from Russia were taken by distant and exotic countries:

• Indonesia (-96.6%),
• Tunisia (-83%),
• Dominicana (-82.5%),
• Mexico (-66.5%),
• Morocco (-64.4%),
• Hong Kong (-46%),
• Thailand (-46%),
• China (-45.5%),
• India (-43.7%),
• Maldives (-43.7%),
• Cuba (-43%).

Of the countries Europe , Greece showed the largest decline (-48%), moving from third to fifth place in the top ten. Of the other significant European directions, Bulgaria showed negative dynamics Spain , and Croatia: minus 41% each.

Also, the top ten European countries that lost the most tourists from Russia included:

• Malta (-41.6%),
• Portugal (-40.4%),
• Czech Republic (-36%),
• Italy (-35.6%),
• Sweden (-38%),
• Austria (-37.6%).

Of the 50 destinations, Vietnam has the best result, to which in 2014 the Russians increased travel by 30%, and in 2015 they reduced only by 5%.

In Europe, Montenegro occupies the most stable position, having lost only 7% of Russian tourist flow and maintaining the status of the only visa-free destination on the Mediterranean coast.

1973

1957

See also

• Russia
• Online tourism (Russian market)

Notes