Egypt has become the most popular foreign destination for family trips during the autumn school holidays, overtaking Turkey, according to analysts at ATOR.  Thailand, China, Vietnam and the UAE are also in the top ranking, with demand for China growing fastest.  Russia’s main autumn school holidays fall in late October and early November.

As of mid-July 2026, regular passenger flights between Russia and the United Arab Emirates are operating across 11 routes. Travelers can depart from seven Russian cities—Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Yekaterinburg, and Kazan—to two UAE destinations: Dubai International (DXB) and Abu Dhabi (AUH). 

Israeli airline El Al has extended its suspension of flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow until at least October 22 due to ongoing instability, according to Russia's Association of Tour Operators (ATOR). Meanwhile, Kazakh airlines Air Astana and FlyArystan have extended their suspension of flights to Dubai until September 30, citing the continued unstable situation in the Middle East.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) conducted a roadshow in three Russian cities, during which representatives of the emirate’s tourism industry met with local tour operators and agents, the department’s press service reported. The Experience Abu Dhabi roadshow, held from August 3 to 7 in Kazan, St. Petersburg, and Moscow, featured 23 participants from hotels, airlines, and destination management companies in Abu Dhabi. The meetings were attended by 350 Russian tour operators and agents.  

As follows from the data of the Onlinetours package tour booking service, in Russia, the average check for foreign tours in the first half of 2026 increased to 196,500 rubles ($2,500), or by 7% compared to the same period in 2025. The demand for trips abroad increased by 44%. Turkey remained the leader in terms of booking volume, accounting for 31% (compared to 35% in the first half of 2025). The average price for a vacation in this country increased by 14% to 226,900 rubles ($2,900).

Russian tour operator FUN&SUN has announced the launch of its own scheduled flight program to the United Arab Emirates, operating in partnership with flydubai. Tours are now on sale with departures from 11 Russian cities, with the program set to begin in August and continue through mid-May 2027.  Flights will be operated from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Samara, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Mineralnye Vody, Makhachkala, Volgograd, and Sochi.

Russia has officially lifted its travel warnings for six Gulf countries, meaning tour operators can now sell trips again without restrictions.  The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia cancelled the advice to avoid travel to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The warnings were originally introduced due to tensions in the Middle East.  Now, tour operators and travel agencies are free to promote and sell tours to these destinations again.

On April 30, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) officially submitted a request to the Ministry of Economic Development to allow tour operators to resume selling package tours to the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries. This was announced by ATOR Executive Director Maya Lomidze.

On April 20, Federal Air Transport Agency, taking into account the position of the Russian Ministry of Transport and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lifted its recommendations for Russian airlines to suspend ticket sales to and from the UAE.

Tourism in the Middle East could recover by early summer if the conflicting parties in the region observe a two-week ceasefire, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

As a result of the military conflict in the Middle East, Russians lost approximately a third of the transit routes that passed through the Persian Gulf countries.

As of March 16, Association of tour operators of Russia announced that they evacuated from the UAE to Russia all the tourists the who had purchased package tours.

According to experts from the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI), there have been no mass cancellations of tours to the Middle East for distant dates yet, although tourists are wondering whether they are obliged to do so following the Russian Ministry of Economic Development's travel advisory.

The situation in the Middle East remains tense, but the repatriation of tourists to Russia is in full swing. On March 2 and 3, nearly 3,000 Russians left the Persian Gulf countries.

Due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, several Gulf countries have completely closed their airspace or imposed temporary overflight restrictions.

According to aggregated data from leading tour operators, the UAE, Thailand, Egypt, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are among the TOP-5 most booked foreign destinations for the New Year holidays.

After visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg, tourists from the Persian Gulf countries are increasingly visiting the mountain resorts of Sochi.

Most of the visitors came from China, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Cuba. This increase in international tourism has a significant impact on the economy of the city.

The Russian Ministry of Transport expects that by the end of 2025, the volume of passenger air traffic between Russia and the United Arab Emirates will be a record.

From June 16 to 22, sales of tours to the UAE fell by more than 30%, to Egypt - by 9%. The outflow of Russian travelers due to the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East was felt by other countries in the region and long-haul destinations, for trips to which the UAE served as a hub. The situation may worsen even more with the restriction of flights to Qatar and Kuwait, travelers are already starting to look for alternative routes for themselves.