Nearly $50 billion for travel. Russians have spent a fortune abroad because it is too expensive at home

Last year, Russians spent almost $50 billion on foreign travel, one of the highest results in history. According to preliminary data from the Central Bank, imports of tourism services reached the level of USD 49.7 billion, approaching the record level of 2014 (USD 50.4 billion). This increase in spending is a clear signal of the revival of tourism, which has once again become accessible to a wider group of citizens.

The main driving force behind this trend was the strengthening ruble and a significant improvement in the air connection network. Industry experts point out that a stronger currency has increased the purchasing power of tourists, making foreign holidays more competitively priced compared to the rising costs of holidays at home. At the same time, the development of direct long-haul flights to countries such as China, Vietnam, Cuba and Oman has opened up new, attractive travel destinations for Russians – we read in “The Moscow Times”.

Immutable Türkiye remains the leader among foreign destinations, visited by over 4.6 million Russians. The next places in the popularity ranking were taken by the United Arab Emirates and Egyptrecording double-digit increases in the number of tourists. Interestingly, despite the overall boom, Thailand was the only key market to see a decline in interest. In turn, visa facilitations and better transit connections through China contributed to the increased popularity of Japan and South Korea.

The price increase in Russia itself has become an important factor encouraging people to travel abroad. Rosstat data shows that accommodation prices in Russian hotels and sanatoriums have increased at a rate of approximately 10% annually, while the costs of foreign travel have increased by only 4.6% over the same period. Domestic ski resorts and summer resorts also struggled with infrastructure problems, such as huge queues for ski lifts or inappropriately high prices in relation to the standard offered.

While Russians spent record sums abroad, spending by foreigners visiting Russia increased only slightly, reaching $8.9 billion.

Prepared by JM

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