Russia recorded a total of six million tourists in 2020, ranking 31st in the world in absolute terms.
The fact that larger countries regularly perform better in a comparison of the absolute number of guests is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Russia, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.044 tourists per resident, Russia ranked 145th in the world. In Eastern Europe, it ranked 9th.
In 2020, Russia generated around 4.96 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 0.28 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 18 percent of all international tourism receipts in Eastern Europe.
The most popular cities in Russia for international travelers are Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In 2021, Moscow ranked 44th among the world's most popular cities. Saint Petersburg was in 63rd.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 741 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Russia spend as much as 830 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Russia from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Russia each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 10 countries in Eastern Europe.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 4.31 billion USD, or about 1.1 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 10.29 million tourists at that time and roughly 419 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $17.24 billion billion, 1.0 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $706 on their vacation in Russia.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $17.24 billion billion (2019), only $4.96 billion billion remained. This is a 71 percent decrease in Russia.
All data for Russia in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
6.36 m
4.96 bn $
0.33 %
780 $
2019
24.42 m
17.24 bn $
1.0 %
706 $
2018
24.55 m
18.74 bn $
1.1 %
763 $
2017
24.39 m
14.94 bn $
0.95 %
612 $
2016
24.57 m
12.82 bn $
1.0 %
522 $
2015
33.73 m
13.19 bn $
0.97 %
391 $
2014
32.42 m
19.45 bn $
0.94 %
600 $
2013
30.79 m
20.20 bn $
0.88 %
656 $
2012
28.18 m
17.88 bn $
0.81 %
634 $
2011
24.93 m
16.96 bn $
0.83 %
680 $
2010
22.28 m
13.24 bn $
0.87 %
594 $
2009
21.34 m
12.37 bn $
1.0 %
580 $
2008
23.68 m
15.82 bn $
0.95 %
668 $
2007
22.91 m
12.43 bn $
0.96 %
542 $
2006
22.49 m
9.72 bn $
0.98 %
432 $
2005
22.20 m
7.81 bn $
1.0 %
352 $
2004
22.06 m
7.26 bn $
1.2 %
329 $
2003
22.52 m
5.88 bn $
1.4 %
261 $
2002
23.31 m
5.28 bn $
1.5 %
226 $
2001
21.60 m
4.73 bn $
1.5 %
219 $
2000
21.17 m
3.43 bn $
1.3 %
162 $
1999
18.82 m
3.72 bn $
1.9 %
198 $
1998
16.19 m
6.51 bn $
2.4 %
402 $
1997
17.46 m
7.16 bn $
1.8 %
410 $
1996
16.21 m
7.10 bn $
1.8 %
438 $
1995
10.29 m
4.31 bn $
1.1 %
419 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 741 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Russia spend as much as 830 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
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