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The Russian Ministry of Economic Development has reported a significant increase in tourist arrivals from countries where the "Discover Russia" tourism brand is actively promoted.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov, speaking at a roundtable discussion in the Federation Council on the quality of tourism services, stated that Saudi Arabia has seen a 12-fold increase in tourist arrivals to Russia, while Oman and Kuwait have experienced a 6-fold increase. Tourists from the United Arab Emirates are visiting Russia four times more frequently, and China has shown a similar growth rate.
"Since this year, we have been promoting the tourism potential of our regions under the unified 'Discover Russia' brand at international exhibitions in Asia and the Middle East. We have developed tour routes for 12 regions of the country for tourists from China, India, and the Persian Gulf countries, and have already begun testing these routes. In the summer, we launched charter flights to the capitals of Bahrain and Iran, and organized blogger tours," said Dmitry Vakhrukov.
The ministry previously reported that in the first nine months of this year, foreign tourist arrivals to Russia grew by 40% compared to the same period last year, reaching 3.2 million people. Nearly a third of foreign tourists visited Russia on electronic visas or as part of visa-free group tours.
Dmitry Vakhrukov believes that these figures will continue to grow. However, he emphasized that the tourism industry needs to address staffing shortages to support further growth. By 2030, the Ministry of Economic Development estimates that the tourism sector will need an additional 400,000 employees. To address this, industry training centers have been established in the Moscow Region, Tatarstan, and St. Petersburg.
"Together with the Ministry of Education and Science, we are revamping educational programs at the Russian State University of Tourism and Service to meet the modern demands of the industry. We have included tourism in the national productivity project. We are creating two regional competence centers that will specifically train companies in lean technologies," added Dmitry Vakhrukov.
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