The number of Russian tourist trips abroad increased by 13.7% year-on-year in January–September 2026, reaching 11.42 million, according to statistics from Russia’s Border Service of the FSB. Turkey remained the most popular destination, accounting for 3.98 million trips, up 7.4%. China followed with 1.61 million trips, a 67% increase, while Egypt recorded 1.5 million, up 30.9%, according to Interfax. Other leading destinations included:
- the UAE (646,300, down 43.1%),
- Vietnam (580,000, 3.8 times more than a year earlier),
- Thailand (578,400, down 3.7%),
- Armenia (383,300, up 34.1%),
- Georgia (306,600, up 21.9%) and
- Uzbekistan (231,000, up 43.7%).
In the second ten destinations were
- Azerbaijan (169,900, +6.4%),
- Kazakhstan (147,700, +30.9%),
- the Maldives (115,100, +42.6%),
- Serbia (94,400, +39%),
- Kyrgyzstan (54,100, +12.7%),
- Sri Lanka (39,500, –26.8%),
- Qatar (37,900, –25.5%), India (37,900, –3.2%),
- Morocco (37,800, +86.7%) and
- Tunisia (33,100, +66.6%).
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) attributed Vietnam’s sharp growth to an expansion of direct flight programs by tour operators and a wider choice of affordable connecting flights via China. It linked the 67% rise in trips to China to the visa-free regime for Russians and an increase in routes and flight frequencies, primarily by Chinese airlines.
The 31% increase in travel to Egypt was explained by more flights to Red Sea resorts and the launch of flights to the country’s Mediterranean coast in late August. Russians who visited that part of Egypt in September were included in the three-quarter statistics.
The sharp 43% decline in trips to the UAE was linked to the Middle East crisis and the slow recovery of air travel. The drop in popularity of Sri Lanka was attributed to a reduction in tour operators’ charter programs and the cancellation of inexpensive connecting flights by Air Arabia due to the Middle East crisis. The airline stopped flights in March and resumed them only in October.
Photo by Maxim Lobov for Russian Travel Digest
