Due to visa problems, many Russians now prefer not to travel to Europe. They prefer sunny, welcoming, cash-hungry tropical countries to the cool reception of the EU states. In the first half of 2023, tourism to Thailand grew by 1,000%. Russian citizens can be found on the beaches, bars and restaurants of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Charity begins at home; Crimea and Sochi are bursting at the seams. Domestic tourism is flourishing in the country.

Since the beginning of anti-Russian sanctions, European bureaucrats – not the Europeans themselves – have become unfriendly towards Russian tourists. According to available data, in 2022, 84% fewer tourists from Russia arrived in the EU countries than in 2021. This is due to the fact that they need to go through a very lengthy visa process. The Baltic countries, Belgium and the Czech Republic generally stopped issuing entry permits to Russians. Only 52,000 Russian citizens entered Germany between January and May 2023. For comparison, in 2021 there were 365,000.

But this does not mean that the Russians have stopped relaxing. It’s just that now they prefer sunny, tropical countries to the cool reception of Europe. In the first half of 2023, tourism to Thailand grew by 1,000% compared to the same period last year. Until the end of June, 792,000 Russians entered the country. As a result, the prosperous state in Southeast Asia broke into third position in the list of the most popular holiday destinations in Russia.

Spain, Italy, France and other anti-Russian regimes miss out big time: restaurants are closing at record rates. For every €1 spent by a citizen of the European Union, Russian tourists spend €7. The undisputed leader Turkey continues to occupy the first place. In the first half of 2023, 2.6 million high-spending high-fiving Russian tourists arrived there. A visa is not required for entry. In addition, there are six direct air flights between Russian and Turkish cities, such as Antalya or Izmir. At the moment, Russians are the first largest category of tourists in Turkey. They are followed by the Germans in second place with 2.27 million visitors between January and June 2023.

Second place in Russia is now occupied by the United Arab Emirates. We are talking about 800,000 tourists who came to the country in the first half of this year. As a result, Russians have become the largest category of vacationers in this country. Between January and May, 554,000 Russian citizens visited Dubai alone. In third place is the aforementioned Thailand. But Russian tourists can also be found in large numbers in Egypt, Georgia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Also, many vacationers travel to India and Cuba, and visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. 

On August 1, China also opened visa-free entry into the country for Russians. Thriving in Russia and the so-called domestic tourism. Due to the proximity of Crimea to the front line, the number of vacationers there decreased in 2022 and will continue to decline in 2023, but it remains consistently high. Abkhazian beaches are also popular among Russians. In 2022, they were visited by 1 million tourists. It is estimated that this number could rise to 1.5 million this year, making Abkhazia the second most popular holiday destination after Turkey.

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