Tourism in Russia

Tourism in Russia plummeted in 2022. Only 200,100 foreigners visited Russia in 2022, a drop of 96.1% from pre-pandemic/pre-2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine years.[1] Earlier, Russia had seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first domestic tourism and then international tourism as well.[2] Russia had formerly been among the most popular tourist destinations in the world, though it fell off that list in 2022. Not including Crimea, the country contains 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, while more are on UNESCO's tentative lists.[3]

St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square

Tourist routes in Russia include a travel around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the rivers including the Volga, and long journeys on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Diverse regions and ethnic cultures of Russia offer different foods and souvenirs, and show a variety of traditions, including Russian Maslenitsa, Tatar Sabantuy, or Siberian shamanist rituals. In 2013, Russia was visited by 33 million tourists, making it the ninth-most visited country in the world and the seventh-most visited in Europe.[4]

History

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, several governments, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada have issued travel advisories calling on their nationals to avoid travel to Russia.[5] For the same reason, airline routes between Russia and Western countries were closed, and supply of spare parts for some domestic airline traffic inside Russia became a challenge.[6]

Only 200,100 foreigners visited Russia in 2022, a drop of 96.1 percent from the pre-pandemic period.[1] Most of Europe closed its airspace to Russian planes a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.[1] Foreign-issued Visa and Mastercard cards no longer work in Russia, further impacting tourism.[1]

Cultural tourism
Kizhi in north-west Russia
Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod

Tourist destinations in Russia include Saint Petersburg (which appeared in the list of top visited cities of Europe in 2010) and Moscow, the current and the former capitals of the country, recognized as World Cities. Moscow and Saint Petersburg museums such as Hermitage and Tretyakov Gallery, theaters including Bolshoi and Mariinsky, churches such as Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, fortifications such as Moscow Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, squares such as Red Square and Palace Square, and streets such as Tverskaya and Nevsky Prospect. Palaces and parks are found in the former imperial residences in the suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and Saint Petersburg (Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk Palace, Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow contains Soviet-era buildings along with modern skyscrapers, while Saint Petersburg has classical architecture, rivers, channels and bridges.

Grand Cascade in Peterhof in Saint Petersburg

Nizhny Novgorod is the capital of the Volga region. Nizhny Novgorod is divided into two parts by the Oka River. The Upper City is its historical part. The Lower City is its industrial and commercial part. Here are the Fair, the old Sormovo and Kanavino, GAZ and Sotsgorod (the so-called "city in the city"), the railway terminal, and the airport.

Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures.

Sakha Republic proposes to use former forced labour camps as a tourist attraction.[7] Poles visit places of Communist crimes, e.g., of the Katyn massacre and Solovetsky Islands.[8][9]

Museums

Russia is home to museums that include the Tretyakov Gallery, the Kremlin Armoury and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, the Hermitage Museum, and the Russian Museum in St Petersburg, the Kazan Kremlin in Kazan, etc. Russia has museums related to its literary and classical music heritage, such as Yasnaya Polyana associated with Leo Tolstoy, the Mikhaylovskoye Museum Reserve associated with Alexander Pushkin, the Dostoyevsky Museum, the Tchaikovsky State House-Museum, and the Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum.

Museums related to Russia's military history and military hardware include the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill, the Central Naval Museum in St Petersburg, the Battle of Stalingrad Museum in Volgograd. Museums related to science and technology include the Polytechnic Museum of Moscow, and the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics.

The GULAG History Museum tells the story about the GULAG camps in Siberia.[10]

The State Historical Museum
Russian Museum
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow
The Hermitage Museum

Nature tourism

In Russia, Nature Reserves have history and it has its own word of definition Zapovedniks (Russian: заповедник, plural заповедники, ) more than 100 Nature Reserves exist in Russia and more than 50 National Parks. National parks and sanctuaries of Russia include the Baikal Nature Reserve , the Altai Nature Reserve, the Lazovsky Nature Reserve, the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, the Curonian Spit National Park, the Valdaysky National Park, the Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve, the Ilmen Nature Reserve. The Seven Wonders of Russia include Lake Baikal, Valley of Geysers, Manpupuner rock formations, and Mount Elbrus. Other areas include Republic of Adygea where Fisht Mountain is located, Chechnya Republic where Lake Kezenoyam is located.[11]

The Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka Peninsula
Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world and the biggest fresh-water lake by volume
Mount Elbrus with its two peaks
The Manpupuner rock formations

Health tourism
Narzan Gallery building in Kislovodsk housing a dozen fountains of both hot and cold mineral-rich water

Mineral spa resorts have been established across Russia in such regions as Kamchatka Krai, Altai Krai, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, North Caucasus region of Russia.[12] Some cites have natural hot spring water during winter and some of Russian cities are called Russian Spa town, including Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Kislovodsk, Zheleznovodsk and Mineralnye Vody; these towns are jointly known as the Caucasian Mineral Waters.

Russia has one of the largest water borders in world, but only the more Southern regions are suitable for resort tourism. The warm subtropical Black Sea coast of Russia is the site for some seaside resorts such as Sochi and Tuapse.

Winter sport

A vast part of Russian territory is in Subarctic climate and humid continental climate, and that is why it is cold. In addition, Russia is mountainous in regions like Northern Caucasus, Altai Krai and Kamchatka Peninsula. The Highest peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus, is in Russia, which makes Russia a place for Winter sport. Ski resorts are in Russia. A ski resort in Russia is Sochi and its Krasnaya Polyana. Other ski resorts in Russia are Dombay in Karachay–Cherkessia in Northern Caucasus.

The Gornaya Karusel in Sochi
Dombay
The Sheregesh in Kemerovo Oblast
Igora ski resort

Medical tourism

Russia is a destination for medical tourism. A factor in its popularity was the relatively weak ruble post-2014, which saw the industry grow from some 110 thousand clients in 2017[13] to some 728 thousand clients in the first five months of 2020.[14] Stomatology is the most used (44% of patients), genecology and urology follow (25% taken together), the other services are plastic surgery (10%), ophthalmology (10%), and cardiology (5%).[13] Most clients come from the CIS states, where receiving high-tech medical assistance can be problematic, particularly from Central Asia, which amounts for 62% of all patients; but also from Eastern Europe (32%), South and East Asia (5%).[15] In addition to price and accessibility of complex manipulations, the difference in regulations between Russia and the clients' own nations is a driving factor for receiving care in Russia: for instance, in vitro fertilization is illegal in China, but legal in Russia.[14]

Religious tourism

Religious tourism has two main subtypes: pilgrimage, as travel done for religious or spiritual purposes, and the viewing of religious monuments and artefacts, as a kind of sightseeing. The former is relatively insignificant for the Russian tourism industry, amounting for approximately 100 thousands pilgrims yearly.[16] The latter is more important. Orthodox Christianity being the most common religion in Russia, it also accounts for most religious monuments across the country.

Multiple pieces of Islamic religious architectural art are scattered across the country, from mosques to maqāms. They are mostly clustered in the historically Muslim regions.

Russia has a Buddhist minority.

Foreign travel statistics

In 2013, 27 million international tourists arrived in Russia, generating US$11.2 billion in international tourism revenue for the country.[17] Including domestic and international tourism, the industry directly contributed RUB860 billion to the Russian GDP and supported 966,500 jobs in the country.[18]

However, only 200,100 foreigners visited Russia in 2022, a drop of 96.1 percent.[1]

Visitor statistics

According to the Border Service of the Federal Security Service and the Federal State Statistics Service, most visitors arriving to Russia were from the following countries of nationality:[19][20]

Nationality Total (includes all types of purposes of visits)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
 Ukraine Decrease 3,648,972 Decrease 8,646,295 Decrease 9,177,272 Increase 9,817,008 Decrease 9,737,405
 Kazakhstan Decrease 1,426,727 Increase 4,324,856 Increase 4,241,244 Decrease 4,137,613 Decrease 4,686,059
 Uzbekistan Decrease 720,041 Increase 2,588,922 Increase 2,354,642 Increase 2,350,007 Decrease 2,116,480
 Abkhazia Decrease 414,927 Increase 600,399 Increase 492,310 Increase 436,368 Decrease 415,606
 Tajikistan Decrease 401,888 Increase 1,557,148 Decrease 1,340,975 Increase 1,350,356 Increase 1,293,270
 Kyrgyzstan Decrease 299,611 Increase 959,130 Increase 859,735 Increase 836,946 Decrease 792,042
 Azerbaijan Decrease 269,807 Increase 1,175,045 Increase 1,145,327 Decrease 1,143,243 Increase 1,156,703
 Armenia Decrease 209,812 Decrease 816,454 Decrease 825,200 Increase 857,212 Decrease 833,577
 Finland Decrease 180,110 Decrease 938,693 Decrease 994,098 Decrease 1,063,348 Decrease 1,376,646
 Belarus Decrease 176,601 Increase 440,438 Increase 403,597 Increase 382,022 Decrease 320,372
 China Decrease 155,594 Increase 2,257,039 Increase 2,030,319 Increase 1,780,200 Increase 1,565,524
 Moldova Decrease 154,766 Decrease 614,043 Decrease 698,027 Increase 803,916 Decrease 699,112
 Philippines Decrease 133,414 Increase 193,031 Increase 179,672 Increase 172,278 Decrease 160,734
 Poland Decrease 133,014 Decrease 680,382 Decrease 728,546 Decrease 765,544 Decrease 1,056,013
 Turkey Decrease 132,372 Decrease 187,612 Increase 196,061 Increase 181,285 Decrease 120,035
 Estonia Decrease 105,584 Increase 540,062 Increase 496,582 Decrease 432,803 Increase 433,926
 Latvia Decrease 93,865 Increase 365,783 Increase 355,641 Decrease 330,266 Increase 360,603
Stateless persons Decrease 74,215 Decrease 303,851 Increase 327,613 Decrease 318,393 Decrease 321,383
 South Ossetia Decrease 70,470 Increase 147,355 Increase 143,501 Increase 137,427 Decrease 115,382
 Germany Decrease 69,456 Increase 744,473 Increase 701,576 Increase 629,082 Increase 613,370
 Lithuania Decrease 57,883 Increase 253,950 Decrease 243,190 Decrease 256,009 Increase 281,168
 Mongolia Decrease 56,625 Decrease 394,994 Decrease 401,485 Decrease 416,293 Increase 542,196
 Georgia Decrease 56,266 Decrease 120,086 Increase 123,732 Increase 117,204 Decrease 65,378
 India Decrease 46,025 Increase 180,567 Increase 159,865 Increase 130,400 Increase 108,498
 South Korea Decrease 42,297 Increase 453,796 Increase 386,413 Increase 276,560 Increase 181,024
 France Decrease 38,391 Increase 249,410 Increase 236,583 Increase 211,673 Increase 201,260
 Israel Decrease 32,402 Increase 260,472 Increase 228,530 Increase 185,426 Increase 182,438
 Italy Decrease 28,432 Increase 251,751 Increase 225,776 Decrease 206,860 Increase 208,689
 Serbia Decrease 26,731 Decrease 84,852 Increase 96,730 Increase 87,899 Increase 79,575
 United Kingdom Decrease 22,471 Decrease 194,956 Increase 216,029 Increase 193,522 Decrease 190,278
 Turkmenistan Decrease 21,680 Increase 92,616 Increase 82,675 Increase 65,749 Increase 56,258
 Vietnam Decrease 19,477 Increase 90,565 Increase 84,612 Increase 77,391 Increase 66,939
 United States Decrease 19,306 Decrease 300,933 Increase 337,395 Increase 293,011 Increase 248,990
 Japan Decrease 16,048 Increase 127,696 Increase 119,240 Increase 114,207 Increase 95,675
 Netherlands Decrease 14,663 Increase 84,651 Increase 80,540 Increase 73,729 Increase 68,017
 Egypt Decrease 13,481 Decrease 28,039 Increase 39,402
 Iran Decrease 12,725 Decrease 54,469 Decrease 61,007 Increase 91,862 Increase 75,203
 Thailand Decrease 12,183 Increase 72,031 Increase 64,898 Increase 52,697 Increase 32,222
 Greece Decrease 11,732 Increase 44,784 Increase 42,967 Decrease 41,205 Increase 46,730
 Bulgaria Decrease 10,255 Increase 41,083 Increase 40,836 Decrease 39,191 Increase 41,290
 Austria Decrease 9,977 Increase 67,429 Increase 64,500 Increase 59,501 Decrease 56,663
 Czech Republic Decrease 9,874 Increase 57,835 Increase 53,739 Increase 49,232 Increase 47,288
 Indonesia Decrease 9,671 Increase 40,284 Increase 31,695 Increase 25,425 Increase 20,211
 Spain Decrease 9,565 Increase 140,181 Increase 123,652 Increase 118,642 Increase 116,032
 Romania Decrease 9,335 Increase 32,779 Increase 29,920 Increase 26,330 Decrease 23,684
 Norway Decrease 8,506 Increase 52,022 Decrease 51,003 Increase 53,197 Decrease 46,631
 Sweden Decrease 8,308 Decrease 43,198 Increase 55,329 Decrease 32,095 Decrease 39,153
 Belgium Decrease 7,534 Decrease 42,473 Increase 48,270 Increase 38,868 Increase 37,492
 Croatia Decrease 7,480Decrease 19,243 Increase 36,045
 Switzerland Decrease 7,407 Decrease 55,747 Increase 59,828 Increase 53,167 Increase 52,656
 Cuba Decrease 6,631 Increase 29,169 Decrease 27,882 Increase 30,711 Increase 26,667
 Hungary Decrease 5,680 Increase 35,541 Increase 32,998 Increase 25,659 Increase 25,313
 Denmark Decrease 5,01624,662 Increase 31,308
Total Decrease n/a Increase 32,866,265 Increase32,550,677 Increase32,035,443 Decrease 31,466,538
Visa statistics

Most visas were issued in the following countries:[21][22]

LocationNumber of visas issued in
202020192018201720162015
 Germany58,953410,780360,582336,423324,959299,791
 China41,280453,338406,831371,489339,030357,040
 Turkey34,16283,16981,17779,89845,20933,698
 France27,059172,870146,491145,576131,229119,314
 United Kingdom20,77092,57388,29096,24693,16987,863
 Italy18,272162,529139,797129,124129,038117,123
 United States16,736106,25098,93695,63094,68285,974
 Finland14,271110,480105,157108,792116,462112,655
 Latvia11,29578,72779,08274,38277,57470,328
 Poland10,53567,66662,84059,18754,88543,038
Total452 1613,090,5382,758,8932,687,1462,505,4572,283,850

See also

References
  1. "Tourism collapses in Russia following western sanctions". Al Arabiya English. 9 February 2023.
  2. "Number of inbound tourism visits to Russia from 2014 to 2022", Statista, 27 April 2023
  3. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Tentative Lists". UNESCO. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  4. "Tourism Highlights 2014" (PDF). E-unwto.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  5. "Europe: Russia extends flight suspension at multiple southern and central airports until April 19 /update 40". Europe: Russia extends flight suspension at multiple southern and central airports until April 19 /update 40 | Crisis24.
  6. "Sanctions: Russia's commercial airlines face a slow death", Deutsche Welle, 18 November 2022
  7. Luhn, Alec (26 March 2014). "Russia's Sakha Republic proposes 'tourist camps' on former gulag sites". The Guardian.
  8. "Strona domeny katyn.pl". Katyn.pl. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. Itaka, Biuro Podróży. "Tajemnice Wysp Sołowieckich – ITAKA". Itaka.pl. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  10. "GULAG History Museum". gmig.ru.
  11. "40 most beautiful places in Russia". Russianblogger.me. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  12. "Hit the spa Russian style: Mineral springs and hot tub substitutes". 2 March 2016.
  13. "Медицинский туризм: почему иностранцы лечатся в России, а россияне — за границей" [Medical tourism: why foreigners seek treatment in Russia, and Russians abroad]. forbes.ru (in Russian). 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  14. "Какое лечение в России выбирают иностранцы" [What kind of medical treatment do foreigners choose in Russia]. ratanews.ru (in Russian). RATA news. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  15. Daykhes, Arkady N.; Jakovljevic, Mihajlo; Reshetnikov, Vladimir A.; Kozlov, Vasily V. (2020). "Promises and Hurdles of Medical Tourism Development in the Russian Federation". Frontiers in Psychology. 11: 1380. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01380. PMC 7324547. PMID 32655455.
  16. "Туристов отделят от паломников с 1 ноября" [Starting November 1, tourists will be separated from pilgrims]. atorus.ru (in Russian). Ассоциация Туроператоров. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  17. "Tourism Highlights 2013 edition" (PDF). Dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  18. "2013 Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Report Russian Federation" (PDF). Wttc.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  19. "Въезд иностранных граждан в РФ". Fedstat.ru. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  20. "Паспорт набора данных "Визы по странам"" (in Russian). Консульский департамент МИД России. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  21. "Количество выданных виз всего". Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  22. "Количество выданных виз по странам". Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Russia.
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