Revenue from foreign tourists in Russia increased by 13%
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Russia«s income from foreign tourists last year reached 8.8 billion dollars. This is 13% higher than the result in 2024. However, the revenue is about one-third lower than the pre-pandemic 2019 figures.
Meanwhile, spending by Russians on trips abroad in 2025 amounted to 48 billion dollars. The average spending of a single Russian tourist abroad has increased by 66% since 2019. For comparison, spending by foreigners in Russia over the same period has almost doubled.
The number of foreign tourists visiting the country continues to recover. According to the FSB Border Service, in 2025, about 7.9 million people visited Russia. This is more than 8.8 million in 2024, but significantly less than 25.4 million in 2019.
The main countries from which tourists come to Russia remain the CIS states:
- Kazakhstan — 2.2 million people
- Uzbekistan — 650 thousand people
- Tajikistan — 400 thousand people
- Belarus — 330 thousand people
The number of tourists from Ukraine, which reached 7.7 million in 2019, is now practically zero.
Separately, the growth in tourist flow to St. Petersburg is noted. In 2025, the city was visited by 12.4 million tourists, which is 7% more than the previous year and 19% higher than the 2019 figure. In particular, during the New Year holidays, over a million guests visited the northern capital.
