In the first nine months of 2023, Russia witnessed a significant upswing in its tourism industry, with foreign visitor numbers tripling in comparison to the previous year, with a notable increase in German tourists, according to data analyzed by RBC from the Federal Security Service’s border control. Over the reporting period, citizens from various countries crossed into Russia for tourism purposes 429,100 times. This marks a substantial increase from the 147,300 entries during the same period the year before.
The largest influx of tourists to Russia over the past nine months came from China, with the Federal Security Service recording 105,800 instances of Chinese tourists crossing the Russian border for tourism. This figure represents a significant surge from the previous year, where statistics showed only 563 Chinese tourists entering Russia for the same January to September period in 2022.
As for tourists from other countries, the most frequent visitors to Russia between January and September 2023 were citizens from Germany, Turkey, Iran, and Turkmenistan. Comparing the numbers to the previous year, the count of tourists from Germany, Turkey, and Iran had doubled, with 42,000, 33,700, and 25,500 trips, respectively. Turkmenistan exhibited the most striking growth, with the number of trips from this country to Russia increasing elevenfold to 23,500, compared to the 2,100 trips recorded the year before.
This surge in international tourism to Russia is indicative of the country’s growing appeal as a tourist destination and highlights the increasing interest of foreign travelers in exploring Russia’s diverse cultural and natural attractions.
