Russia has seen an increase in the influx of tourists from Europe

Russia has seen an increase in the influx of tourists from Europe, Europeans have become more likely to apply for tourist visas. According to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in 9 months of this year, Russia issued 57% more visas in European countries than in the same period of 2022. In total, 225.000 entry permits were issued to Europeans, including 141.000 tourist visas.

These data are significantly behind the indicators of 2019, when 1.645 million visas were issued to residents of the Old World, of which 1.112 million were issued through tourism.

Back to Europe

The European Union, as you know, has imposed restrictions on Russians traveling in Europe because of the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, some member countries of the community, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic have generally banned tourists from Russia from entering their territory. As a result, the anti-Russian policy causes significant damage to the tourism industry of these states.

According to the Paris Bureau of Tourism, this summer the growth in the number of Russian arrivals in Paris, one of the most visited cities in Europe, amounted to less than 1%. Compared to 2019, the number of tourists from Russia who arrived by air to the French capital from January to May decreased by 95.8%.

Due to sanctions, obtaining tourist visas to Europe costs Russians more today. In addition to complicating the procedure itself, additional difficulties are associated with the ban for Russian airlines to fly to and over the territory of the European Union.

Despite this, millions of Russian citizens continue to travel across Europe. In 2022, Russian tourists made about 22.5 million trips abroad, compared with 19.2 million in 2021.

New horizons

The restrictions imposed by the EU countries have opened up opportunities for the Russian tourism industry to develop new markets around the world.

Along with Turkey, the countries with the largest influx of Russian tourists included Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Maldives and Egypt.

And about 58.000 Russians rested on the island of Bali, famous for its tropical beaches and volcanic mountains in the Indian Ocean in 2022. Already in January of this year, their number reached 22.500, which, according to the Indonesian government, makes Russians the second largest contingent of foreign travelers after Australians.

According to the German company Statista, specializing in the analysis of market and consumer data, Russia in 2021 ranked 14th in terms of international tourism with total expenditures of its citizens in the amount of about 11.4 billion US dollars.

And if Europe is ready to abandon Russian tourists in favor of political interests, the countries of the rest of the world do not intend to stay away.

Sri Lanka, Morocco and Thailand plan to open direct flights with Russia to facilitate travel for Russians, while India, Burma and Oman have recently held talks with Moscow to increase the number of Russian tourists.

For its part, Iran has signed an agreement with the Russian Federation on strengthening tourism cooperation between the two countries. This was preceded by the conclusion of a similar agreement with Cuba, aimed at attracting up to 500.000 Russian tourists to the island per year.

For a number of countries, stimulating Russian tourism is a way to balance economic ties with Russia.

Due to the fact that Turkey, which has the status of a candidate for EU membership, did not impose sanctions against Russia, it has become the main destination for Russian tourists. At the same time, Turkey is one of the largest importers of Russian energy carriers.

At the same time, in Cyprus and Greece, the shortage of vacationers from Russia, who until recently left a significant part of foreign visitors, undermined national economies and prompted the authorities of both countries to reconsider tourist models.

Restoration of inbound tourism

Moscow's adequate response to Western sanctions has made it more difficult for foreign tourists to travel to Russia due to retaliatory restrictions on flights and the inability to use Visa and Mastercard cards issued by foreign banks in the country.

The number of travelers visiting Russia from far abroad decreased in 2022 by 96.1% compared to the pre-pandemic 2019.

In the current situation, the Russian authorities are actively taking measures to stimulate the development of domestic tourism, while at the same time intensifying efforts to restore inbound tourism. To this end, the authorities of Russia and India are discussing the possibility of using the Mir and RuPay payment systems on the territory of the two states. Russia has proposed the complete abolition of tourist visas to a number of countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In particular, Moscow may cancel entry permits for tourists from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Malaysia. Russia also intends to follow the path of introducing a visa-free regime with the whole of Latin America. Moscow is negotiating group visa-free trips with China and Iran.

The return of tourist groups from China in February 2023, following Beijing's lifting of travel restrictions imposed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, also indicates that Russia is still an attractive tourist destination.

Chinese outbound tourism

The Russian authorities expect that the resumption of group visa-free travel between China and Russia will have a positive impact on inbound tourism due to the large deferred demand among Chinese tourists. In the next two years, the tourist flow from China to Russia will return to pre-pandemic indicators, Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, told reporters in Beijing.

According to him, Russia is interested in Chinese tourists, and to simplify their entry, a group visa-free regime was introduced this year. The system of issuing electronic visas has also started working, half of which are now received by Chinese citizens. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese travelers were in first place both in terms of attendance and spending in Russia.

In 2019, 1.5 million Chinese tourists visited the Russian Federation, of which 1.2 million were in the framework of visa–free exchanges. The Chinese accounted for about a third of all inbound tourist trips to Russia. "We have a big common project, the Great Tea Way, which we are implementing - China, Mongolia, Russia - and which just holds together a lot of regions and develops tourism where it may be most needed," Reshetnikov said.

That is, he pointed out, it is not only Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, which do not need to be advertised anyway, but also Altai, Siberia, the Ural regions, the Far East. According to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, there are excellent points of attraction for foreign tourists in Russia: nature, ski resorts and other attractions, and the department is interested in the development of tourist infrastructure.