The number of international travelers to Russia as part of organized tours decreased by more than 90 percent this year, according to a Kommersant business daily report.
The main reason for the decrease is Russia’s isolation over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thus keeping the majority of international visitors away, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to the official figures, the year-on-year decrease in Russia’s inbound tourist figures as a whole is just 40 percent, from about 290,000 registered last year to 190,000 registered in 2022.
It has also been reported that in 2019, about 5.1 million visitors entered Russia, while of them, 400,000 came as part of an organized tour.
In this regard, the head of Russian tour operator Delfin, estimated that about a 90 percent decrease in tour arrivals will be noted, while stressing that the tourism sector is hampered by the negative image of Russia, the ban on the use of Visa and Mastercard in this country as well as Russia’s imposed visa regime.
“The flow is ensured by individual tourist, business and private trips,” vice president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Dmitry Gorin, pointed out in this regard.
A large number of tour operators have moved from inbound tourism to organizing domestic tours in the Russian capital as well as St. Petersburg.
“A noticeable flow from Europe should not be expected in 2023,” Romashkin pointed out regarding the issue, forecasting a slight increase from countries that have visa-free agreements with Russia, including visitors from Turkey, Iran as well as India.
According to some industry experts, next year, the tourism industry could be revived, mainly driven by the Asian market. Particularly China could contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector after the latter announced that it would reopen its borders in January.
Like many other countries, the tourism sector in Russia was also highly affected by the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, thus leading to a decrease in the number of visitors, while the current situation has also caused profound damage to this country, hampering the further recovery of the tourism industry among others.
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU, on August 31, agreed to suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Such a decision was taken as part of harsh sanctions imposed on Russia due to the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
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