Русский
With the European Union fully suspending the visa-facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia as part of sanctions in 2022, and European airlines no longer providing direct flights, alternative destinations for Russian nationals replacing European destinations are now in vogue. That trend can be seen in the tourist traffic from Russia to Egypt, which surged to over 35% to 1.28 million trips in 2023, according to Amr El Kady, the CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Authority. He was speaking at the MITT international tourism exhibition in Moscow.
El Kady stated that more than 1.28 million tourists from Russia visited Egypt in 2023, 35.4% more than in 2022, making Russians the second most frequent visitors to the country after the Germans. Egypt’s top five tourist sources included visitors from Saudi Arabia, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Egypt saw a record number of tourists in 2023. The country had 14.9 million visitors in 2023, well above the figure of 4.9 million in 2021 and more than the previous record of 14.7 million seen in 2010. El Kady stated that this trend is expected to continue in 2024, given that the number of tourists that visited Egypt in the first 50 days of the year was up 8% from a year earlier. This upward trend will include still more Russian visitors as they bypass Europe and take advantage of a 2024 expansion in Russia-Egypt flights by Egypt Air, Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines and others.
Russian tourist arrivals to the EU dropped by 90% between 2021 and 2022, with Russian visitors to Paris, a previously popular destination, decreasing by 95.8% according to France 24.
Russian tourists travelling overseas in 2023 (not including travel to ex-Soviet countries) reached 14 million, an increase of 27.6% over 2022, meaning this is a growth market.
Russian tourists replaced European destinations with the following, in order of popularity, according to Russian FSB immigration data:
| Country | Russian Tourists (millions) | Percentage Increase |
| Turkiye | 6.3 | +20.7% |
| UAE | 1.7 | +42.5% |
| Thailand | 1.48 | +240.6% |
| Egypt | 1.28 | +35.4% |
| China | 0.966 | + 420% |
| Maldives | 0.209 | +3.6% |
| Sri Lanka | 0.197 | +116.4% |
| Cuba | 0.185 | +240% |
| Indonesia (Bali) | 0.160 | +115% |
Of these countries, all are in the process of further deepening trade and investment ties with Russia. Egypt and the UAE are now members of the BRICS group, with China a founding member. Turkiye, Indonesia, and Thailand are expected to join shortly, while Turkiye, Thailand, Egypt, Indonesia and Cuba are also negotiating free trade agreements with the EAEU.
According to Future Market Insights, the Russian outbound tourism market reached US$27.1 billion in value in 2022. Sales in the market are expected to grow at a robust 9.4% per annum from now to 2032.
