Foreigners made nearly 3 million tourist trips to Russia in first half of 2026. That’s the worst showing in five years.
Foreigners made 2.99 million tourist trips to Russia between January and June 2026, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing Rosstat data.
That marks a 19.6% year-over-year decline, the worst first-half showing since 2021.
Sergey Romashkin, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, said inbound tourist flow dropped 15% year-over-year and that the drop deepened further this summer, though he did not provide specific figures.
The Economic Development Ministry, meanwhile, wants to measure tourist flow by counting foreigners staying in hotels, a figure that grew 23% in January–May. Hoteliers themselves, however, have not noticed significant growth, Kommersant reported.
Marina Levchenko, general director of “Tari Tour,” said tourist flow to Russia sharply worsened in March because of the war in the Middle East, which forced airlines to cut flight programs. She attributed the drop in tourist numbers in May–June to negative news coverage inside Russia.
Tourists are wary of reports about a fuel crisis and disruptions in airport operations, Levchenko said, adding that high travel costs are also deterring visitors. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia named flight disruptions as the key factor holding back inbound tourist flow.
China accounts for the bulk of tourist trips to Russia, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant. Data from the Border Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service show China accounted for 50.8% of arrivals in 2025, followed by Saudi Arabia in second place at 4.6%, then Turkmenistan, Turkey, Germany, and the UAE. Rosstat, however, uses a different methodology that also counts visits from neighboring countries, and by that measure, citizens of Kazakhstan, China, and Uzbekistan travel to Russia most often.
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