Page 89 - bne IntelliNews monthly country report Russia February 2024

The significant increase is partly attributed to the low base of 2022, which experienced a considerable decline in tourism due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions-related factors. Estimates suggest a tenfold decrease in tourism to Europe in 2022, dropping to 1mn people from the pre-pandemic level of 10mn in 2019.
Dmitry Gorin, Vice President of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, told the Russian daily that the number of tourist trips to the EU in 2023 saw a substantial increase of 15-30% y/y, totalling approximately 2mn people. However, this remains fivefold less than the pre-pandemic peak. Other estimates put the number of trips higher, including transit traffic through the popular transit cities of Istanbul, Yerevan, and Tbilisi that suggest the actual number of trips to Europe were 4–5mn passengers.
Italian destinations witnessed the largest surge in demand for flights, with popular choices including France, Spain, Greece, Austria, Hungary, and Cyprus. Yandex Travel data revealed a three to five-fold increase in demand for hotels in Italy and France compared to the previous year's low base. The average cost of a night in a hotel decreased by 45%, reaching RUB7,700 ($86), as Russians count their kopeks more carefully.
Despite the challenges of the past year, Russians demonstrated adaptability to increased travel costs, and foreign air carriers expanded their presence in the Russian market. Moreover, Schengen visas continued to be issued to Russians, with statistics from SchengenVisaInfo showing that in 2022, Russians applied for 687,000 Schengen visas with only a 10% refusal rate. In 2023, 17 out of 27 EU countries issued visas to Russians.
Looking ahead, experts anticipate a further increase in passenger traffic to Europe from Russia by 20–30% in 2024 if the current trends and conditions persist.
Around 1.3mn Russians have visited Thailand since the beginning of this year as of November, making Russia the fifth-largest national group visiting the kingdom, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported. The resort province of Phuket located on a similarly-named island is the most popular destination among Russian tourists. More than 700,000 Russians have arrived at the international airport of Phuket only year-to-date where they are the largest national group among foreign tourists. Over 25mn foreigners have visited Thailand since the beginning of 2023. The largest portion of guests came from Malaysia (4mn), followed by China (3.1mn), South Korea (1.5mn), and India (1.47mn).
89 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com