By 2023 more than 2 million Russian tourists are waited in the UAE

Russia will remain one of the leading source markets for the UAE, as well as for other countries of the Persian Gulf. And by 2023 the Russian market will grow by 125% from 933,000 in 2018 to 2.1 million. As a result, Russian tourists will be able to “provide” another 2.9 million additional hotel rooms. Such an assessment was presented by experts of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Russia is in the TOP 10 if incoming markets for the UAE. In 2017 the number of Russian tourists was 530 thousand - the increase is 121%.  “Traditionally, the countries of the Persian Gulf and, first of all - the UAE, have always been popular among Russian tourists. However, in 2015, there was a significant decrease in the number of Russian visitors, which was a reflection of the volatility on the financial and energy markets. As both factors are remaining stable, we note again a robust increase in the number of Russian visitors, and we expect this trend will continue,” commented Daniel Curtis, the director of the Arabian Travel Market exhibition. The demand is confirmed by the growth in air transportation: for example, in June, Emirates airline announced the third daily flight to Moscow. And in September the airline confirmed that flights to St. Petersburg would be opened. Etihad Airways and Flydubai also increased their number of flights between the UAE and Russia.