Inbound tourism to Russia totals 1.33 million foreign tourist trips in Jan–Sep 2026, led by China

Foreign tourists made 1.329 million tourist trips to Russia in January–September 2026, up 3.45% year on year, according to data from the Border Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). China remained the leader in inbound tourist traffic, with 812,460 tourist arrivals from the country. That was 17.65% more than in the same period last year, when 690,600 Chinese travelers visited Russia. Chinese tourist traffic also increased in the third quarter, rising 15.86% year on year. This info is published in Interfax News.

Turkmenistan ranked second with 70,980 tourist arrivals in January–September, almost 40% more than in the same period a year earlier. Turkey was third with 59,000 tourists, up 17% year on year. Saudi Arabia followed with 41,320 arrivals, down 12.8%, while Germany completed the top five with 36,190 tourists, down 32.7%. The rest of the top ten included India with 29,080 tourists, Iran with 16,420, Kazakhstan with 16,010, Belarus with 13,670 and Oman with 11,410.

The United Arab Emirates ranked only 11th, narrowly behind Oman, with 11,407 tourist arrivals. That was 70% less than last year, when the UAE ranked sixth after the first three quarters.

Overall, 11,091,657 foreign citizens entered Russia for all purposes in January–September 2026, down 9.6% from a year earlier.

The photo from official Moscow Media Photobank