Over the past six months, the number of foreign tourist trips to…
Over the past six months, the number of foreign tourist trips to Russia has decreased by 20%. In January-June this year, foreigners made 2.99 million tourist trips to Russia, according to Kommersant citing Rosstat data.
Consensus
- In January–June 2026, foreign tourists made 2.99 million tourist trips to Russia.
- This represents a 19.6% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year.
- The figure is the lowest for the first half of the year since 2021.
- The decline follows two consecutive years of falling arrivals after reaching a peak in 2024.
- Experts cite regional conflicts, flight restrictions, airport disruptions, and negative media coverage as contributing factors.
- High travel costs are also mentioned as a deterrent for foreign tourists.
Points of divergence
- The number of tourist trips is the lowest since 2021, when pandemic restrictions were in place. — tg_echoonline_news
- The vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators estimates a 15% year-on-year decline; the CEO of 'Tari Tura' reports around 20%. — novaya_eu
- Marina Levchenko attributes the sharp drop starting in March to the war on the Middle East, and links May–June decline to negative domestic media coverage. — meduza
- The main reasons for the decline are drone attacks, airport closures, and a fuel crisis. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- Azimut Hotels reported a decrease in foreign guests, especially from Middle Eastern countries; Cosmos Hotel Group saw only a 3.4% increase in foreign guests. — tg_astrapress
- The largest number of trips were made by citizens of Kazakhstan (391,000), China (221,000), Abkhazia (111,000), and Uzbekistan (105,000) in January–March 2026. — tg_theinsider
- The summer season was notably worse than expected; the market saw unusual winter activity at the start of the year before a sharp downturn in March due to Middle East conflict escalation. — kommersant
Coverage (7 sources)
- Foreign tourist visits to Russia dropped by 20% in six months — ЭХО / Новости
- Tourist flow to Russia in the first half of 2026 was the lowest in five years — Новая газета Европа
- Foreigners made nearly three million tourist trips to Russia in the first half of 2026 — worst result in five years — Meduza
- Minimum number of foreign tourists visited Russia in five years due to drone attacks and fuel crisis — The Moscow Times
- Incoming tourist traffic to Russia fell by nearly 20% year-on-year over six months to 3 million trips — worst figure in five years — ASTRA
- Foreigners are visiting Russia less frequently: tourist traffic fell by 20% in a year — to the lowest level since the start of the full-scale war — The Insider
- Visitor traffic at entry points dropped by nearly 20% in the first half of the year — Коммерсантъ
Key entities
- Russia
- Rosstat
- Commerzant
- Kommersant
- Association of Russian Tour Operators
- Sergey Romashkin
- FSB
- Middle East