Russian’s Spending More Tourist Dollars On Overseas Trips

Russian spending on trips abroad has exceeded pre-2019 record levels, according to the Russian Central Bank. In 2024, Russian nationals spent almost US$38 billion on travel to other countries, overtaking the previous record by US$1.5 billion. Among the main reasons for the growth of the Russian overseas tourism sector are the availability of new destinations and a domestic adaptation to higher prices.

During 2024, Turkiye accounted for about 45% of all foreign trips made by Russians, with China ranking second in popularity due to its visa-free regime and active development of tourism infrastructure. The United Arab Emirates has also attracted Russian travellers with comfortable holiday and convenient transit opportunities, while Thailand continues to be one of the favourite Asian destinations — accounting for 6% of all foreign trips. The popularity of Egypt, which was visited by about 5% of Russian tourists, is also growing.

In 2019, European destinations such as Spain, Italy, and France were also significantly popular among Russian travellers, however this market has substantially dropped due to EU visa policies against Russian nationals and overall EU negative attitude problems towards Russian nationals.