Belarusians among ten most frequent visitors to Russia in 2023
Based on the results of 2023, Belarus entered the top-10 countries whose residents visited Russia most often – according to the information posted on the website of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), uniting the largest tour operator companies from various Russian regions, with reference to data from the Border Service of the Russian Federal Security Service
“By late 2023, 15.5 million foreigners entered Russia for various purposes (not only tourism, but also business, private, work trips, study, treatment, etc.),” the ATOR informed. “This is 2.4 million more than in 2022. More than half of this inbound flow came from four neighbouring countries: Kazakhstan (3.2 million), Uzbekistan (3.1 million), Tajikistan (2.2 million), and Kyrgyzstan (1.1 million). The inbound flow from all these countries is significantly higher than in 2022. China closes the top-5 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with 794,400 Chinese visits for various purposes. Last year’s top-10 for entry also included Abkhazia (764,800 visits), Armenia (616,700), Azerbaijan (476,700), Belarus (414,700), and Mongolia (311,500).
ATOR drew attention to the fact that the majority of arrivals specified in the FSB border service statistics do not relate to classic tourism. Moreover, movement between Belarus and Russia is free, so it is not possible to determine the exact number of visits. For example, at the end of 2022, the National Statistical Committee of Belarus (Belstat) reported that Russia was visited by 78,150 organised tourists, although in fact there were much more tourist visits to the neighbouring country.
According to ATOR, electronic visa has given a powerful impetus to the growth in the number of foreign visits to Russia. In Q4 2023, during the low tourist season, the tourist flow to the Russian Federation was the same as during the peak season: summer. In 2024, ATOR forecasts suggest a 3-4-fold growth in the organised inbound tourism, with Asia becoming its driver.
