4 December 15:28
Russian business tourism is increasingly gravitating towards the eastern direction: China and the UAE are showing an average increase in business trips of 2.5 times. And within the country, in addition to the traditional leaders of Moscow and St. Petersburg, new centers of gravity are emerging – Surgut, Tyumen and Shuya.
Such trends were discovered by specialists from MegaFon and the business tourism agency Continent Express following a joint study of business travel in 2025.
One of the most popular destinations is expected to be China, where the number of business trips has increased 3.4 times over the past three years. Here, Russian businessmen often visit exhibitions of industrial equipment, computer technology, the automotive and textile industries, as well as the famous Canton Fair.
Another point of attraction for business tourism is the UAE. The country is experiencing a 62% increase in business travel, with Russian travelers enjoying favorable tax policies, simplified business registration procedures, and access to new markets through international exhibitions and events. Due to rapid growth, China and the Emirates rose to the top 5 destinations, behind only Turkey, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
According to MegaFon and Continent Express, since the beginning of 2025 there has been a shift in business interests within the country. Krasnodar, Surgut, Tyumen and Shuya are actively gaining popularity. Key industries that account for the largest share of business tourists include the oil and gas sector, IT, retail, pharmaceuticals and mining.
“The innovation centers of Kazan and Yekaterinburg, as well as Shuya in the Ivanovo region, where the IT production of Russian corporations are concentrated, are popular among IT specialists. Tyumen stands out separately, where the headquarters of leading companies and production facilities of the oil and gas industry are located. It is worth noting that this city entered the top destinations in 2025, moving Novokuznetsk and Krasnoyarsk, the centers of the metallurgical industry, forward,” comments Lidiya Yachmennikova, deputy director of the customer service department at Continent Express.
With rising prices for logistics, companies began to plan business trips more carefully, and the spread of hybrid and remote work formats affected the duration of business trips. Thus, in 2025, the average duration of business trips to Russian regions was two days, and to non-CIS countries – 2-3 days.
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