Weniger Touristen aus Europa kommen nach Russland

The number of foreign tourists in Russia increased in 2011 by 9.3% of that of 2010 and amounted to 1.98 million people, – the media quotes the message of the Federal State Statistics Service.

Most of the tourists – 96% of the total number – come from far abroad.

However, the main increase was due to tourists from China – the number of tourists from this country increased by 53% and the flow of tourists from Turkey increased by 43%.

At the same time the number of tourists from Western Europe declined.

Thus, the number of travelers from Great Britain declined by 24%, the number of tourists from Finland and Germany remained almost unchanged, the number of tourists from the United States increased by only 4%, from France by 1%. Only Spain showed a good growth by 16%.

According to the experts interviewed by the news agency “Interfax”, the decrease of the flow was a logical consequence of the economic difficulties experienced by Europe, so in the near future the situation will hardly change.

However, the experts note that the cost of tourist services in Russia is not too high, as it seems for many people. On average, a tourist trip for one person to Moscow can cost around 1,000 euros, which is quite comparable with the prices of tours in Europe.

One of the main reasons for the lack of progress in the tourism industry the experts name the visa regime. So, after the abolition of visas, the interest to Russia has grown significantly in Brazil, Turkey and Israel.

According to experts, the most popular destinations for foreigners are St. Petersburg, Moscow and the cities of the Golden Ring of Russia.