Despite the sanctions, difficulties in obtaining visas and the lack of direct flights, Russian tourists do not refuse to travel to Europe in the summer season of 2024.

Europe remains a popular destination for Russian tourists for the New Year holidays. Italy and France are the most popular on the continent, the press service of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (RST) reported.

Italy this year is the most popular among European countries. Basically, tourists buy sightseeing tours in combination with neighboring countries, most often France, but arrival and departure is carried out in Rome or Milan.

The Spanish authorities continue to be the leader in issuing Schengen visas in Russia, as recently published statistics show. In 2022, a quarter of all documents issued to Russian were Spanish: 154 450 visas out of 603 955.

Demand for Italy has grown "many times" in defiance of the sanctions. Tour operators note an increase of demand for trips to this country in the summer season 2023, both for sightseeing and beach tours.

Tourists have begun to show greater interest in Italy and Greece compared to last year. There is a noticeable revival of these destinations.

Tour operator Pac Group, a leading player in the Italian market, reports a significant surge in bookings of tours to Italy, which has been recorded since mid-April.

Italy has opened its borders for Russian tourists. Italian Visa Application Centers in Moscow and the regions have resumed accepting documents for tourist visas.

From March 1, 2022, the current restrictions on entry into Italy from Russia for the purpose of tourism will end. Russians will only need a visa and a negative PCR test to enter.

Flights and tourist traffic from Russia amidst pandemic (weekly update)

Pobeda is resuming flights to Milan (Bergamo). Moscow-Milan (Bergamo) flights will be performed from March 26, 2021, on Fridays.

S7 airline has opened ticket sales to charter flights from Moscow to Bari, Olbia and Pisa in Italy with the scheduled departures from early March

In July-August, Russian tourists started buying air tickets for the New Year holidays after a long break. Primarily, hey show interest for the still closed European countries.

Russian tourists are not allowed to visit Italy. As a member of the EU, Italy cannot open its borders to unsafe countries.

Wizz Air, which was the first foreign carrier to open its operating base in Russia, is expanding its presence at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

With the opening of the external borders of the EU from June 15, Italy is ready to receive Russian tourists.

In order to quickly restore tourist flow from Russia, European countries thought about easing the visa regime. The most active in this matter are the European countries, which GDP largely depends on the tourism sector.

Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world. The secret of Italy’s success is simple: a great beach holiday in the Mediterranean, a super-rich excursion program, ski resorts and, of course, shopping. Another point of the Italian program is a very high-quality, not cheap, treatment at thermal SPA, as well as gastronomic and wine tours.

The Milan metropolis or “Greater Milan” in northern Italy includes the city of Milan, the administrative center of the Lombardy region, and 10 Lombard provinces with a total population of about 9 million people. It is the fifty-fourth largest metropolis in the world.

Russia is imposing restrictions on air transportation to Italy, Germany, France, and Spain.

Aeroflot reduces the number of flights to China, South Korea, Vietnam and Italy in March due to lower demand from passengers, the company said.

Ural Airlines announced the suspension of a number of flights to Italy. The Airline explains these measures in its statement by the “unfavorable epidemiological situation” in Italy.

Pobeda Airlines (part of the Aeroflot Group) will reduce the frequency of flights to Italy until May 2020 due to falling demand in this area.

Tour operators have named the TOP-5 of the best-selling European destinations this spring.

The demand for Italian ski resorts this year met all the expectations of tour operators. In December, more than 60% of tour packages planned for the winter season was sold. The popularity of the destination among Russian tourists-skiers has grown by 25-30%.