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The EU imposed restrictions on Russians traveling to Europe after the invasion of Ukraine, with some countries – notably Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic – imposing an outright ban. The restrictions have opened up new markets around the world for Russia’s billion-dollar tourism industry.
Known for its combination of tropical beaches, lush rice paddies and volcanic mountains, Bali is a popular tourist destination that attracts visitors from all over the world. But last year the island in the Indian Ocean started to see an increase of a kind of travelers: about 58,000 Russians THERE traveled to Bali at the end of the year. Only in January 2023, the number of visitors from Russia jumped to 22,500, according to Indonesian government data, which makes the Russians that second largest guest group completion Australians.
In another tourist destination on the opposite side of the world, the numbers tell a different story. So far this year, “Paris has 95.8% fewer Russian tourists arriving by air between January and May [compared with 2019]”said a spokesperson from the Paris tourist board. In the summer months, the arrival of Russians in the French capital – one of the most visited cities in Europe – is expected to increase to less than 1 percent.
Since full measure invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has become more difficult for Russians to travel to popular holiday destinations in the European Union. Approving travel visas is more expensive and less straightforward, Russian air carriers are banned flying over or on the EU, and the Russian oligarchs will no longer be able to land their jets in some places.
There is also the hope of a unwelcome for Russian tourists; a little over a year since the invasion of Ukraine, the public perception of Russia in all EU countries is “an enemy“, according to a multi-country poll conducted in January.
However, millions of Russians continue to travel abroad. The others 22.5 million trips abroad taken by Russian tourists in 2022, up from 19.2 million in 2021, with Turkey being the main destination.
And holidaymakers in Russia are now beating a path on not the West destination record numbers instead of Europe.
Changing destinations
Among those countries that saw the biggest boom in Russian visitors are Thailand, UAE, Turkey, Maldives and Egypt.
Thailand, in particular, stands to “benefit greatly from the EU ban on Russian travel as the market is forced to change its preferences. destinations”, according to a report from business intelligence provider GlobalData.
Russia is 14th in international tourism with spending to nearly $11.4 billion by 2021, according to Statista.
And countries the whole world wants to claim a share of that market. Sri Lanka, Morocco and Thailand plan to open direct flight paths with Russia to facilitate travel while India, Myanmar and Oman recently held talks with Russia to discuss increasing tourism.
Iran signed an agreement with Russia on Friday to promote mutual tourism cooperation, just a few days after Cuba signed an agreement to promote tourism that aims to increase the number of Russian visitors up to 500,000 one year.
For some countries, promoting Russian tourism is a way to help balance economic relations with Russia. Turkey is one of the world largest consumer of Russia’s energy, and its tourism industry is largely dependent on Russian holidaymakers. Its tourism sector remains unaffected by the war in Ukraine. It “does not impose sanctions on Russia, so it became the No. 1 destination for Russian tourists”, States Faruk Balli, professor at the School of Economics and Finance at Massey University on New Zealand.
But in Cyprus and Greece, a lack of tourists in Russia – WHO usually represent a large percentage of the total visitors – have affected the economy and prompted a rethink of tourism models.
Attracting tourists despite sanctions
The others 4.6 million Russians visited Turkey in 2022, more than any other foreign country. But it’s not just a destination in its own right – since the Russians can no longer fly directly to the EU, Istanbul has emerged as a key layover for holidaymakers and business travelers to Europe.
However just a little Russian travelers visiting EU countries, the effect was not felt so much in Paris. “Russian visitors usually represent one percent of all tourists,” a spokesman for the Paris tourist office said.
Greater loss can be felt in Russia itself. The number of foreign visitors to Russia fell to 96.1% in 2022 compared to the numbers from before the Covid pandemic in 2019, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.
from the full invasion of Ukraine, The demand for travel to Russia falls in between BOTH EU and US tourists. Western sanctions have also complicated travel to Russia through flight restrictions and the impossibility of using Visa and Mastercards issued by foreign banks.
The Russian government advocates domestic tourism to revitalize the sector, while also increasing the efforts of the international court guest. Plans are underway on coordinate THE Mir Russian payment system with Indian equivalent RuPay and to waive Russian visa requirements for visitors from some Arab and Latin American countries.
The return of Chinese tour groups to February 2023, after the pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, that is It is also called a sign that Russia remains a thriving tourist destination. RUSSIAN The state media reported that THE the number of Chinese visitors to Russia may return to pre-pandemic levels for three years.
