The number of foreign tourists in Russia doubled in 2024

15:05; 27 December 2024 year

In 2024, twice as many foreign tourists visited Russia as in the previous year. Such a preliminary forecast for the year was made by the Association of Tour Operators.

In total, 2.5 million foreign citizens visited Russia for tourist and business purposes this year, which is 95% higher than in 2023. In particular, about 1.8 million foreigners visited the country for tourism purposes, and about 0.7 million people for business purposes.

Experts attribute this dynamic to the low base of last year, as well as to the electronic visa regime in force throughout the year, the final debugging of the mechanism for visa-free group tours from China and Iran, and the expansion of flights to key markets.

Tourists from China (60%), the United Arab Emirates (15%), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman (10%), Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam (6%), India (5%) visited the European part of Russia the most. Iran, Turkey, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Armenia, Uzbekistan (2%).

The most popular among foreign tourists were Moscow (50%), St. Petersburg (25%), Murmansk Region (10%), Kazan, Ural, other regions of the European part (7%), Moscow region (5%), Sochi (3%).

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