Inbound tourism in Russia by year: how many foreigners arrive
· Tourism
In 2025 foreigners made 7.86 million tourist trips to Russia. In 2019, the last pre‑COVID year, there were 24.42 million. A drop of 3.1 times, and recovery is slow: the peak of the post‑crisis years was in 2024 with 9.05 million trips, after which the flow fell again. Data from Rosstat.
Half of the flow comes from two countries, and a third of the pre‑war volume disappeared along with one direction. Below are the full series since 2014, a breakdown by country, and interactive charts.
Inbound trips by year
Number of inbound tourist trips by foreign citizens, thousand trips per year.
| Year | Trips, thousand | Compared to 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 25,438 | 104% |
| 2015 | 26,852 | 110% |
| 2016 | 24,571 | 101% |
| 2017 | 24,390 | 100% |
| 2018 | 24,551 | 101% |
| 2019 | 24,419 | 100% |
| 2020 | 6,359 | 26% |
| 2021 | 7,080 | 29% |
| 2022 | 8,243 | 34% |
| 2023 | 8,210 | 34% |
| 2024 | 9,054 | 37% |
| 2025 | 7,859 | 32% |
Until 2020 the series was flat, hovering around 25 million trips per year. The peak was in 2015, when the ruble halved in value and Russia became a cheap destination. Then a collapse occurred, and returning even to forty percent of the previous level has not yet been achieved. The full series for all countries is available in the dataset on the website.
Where they come from: countries in 2025
Thousands of trips per year:
| Country | 2019 | 2025 | Share in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kazakhstan | 3,564 | 2,111 | 26.9% |
| China | 1,883 | 1,147 | 14.6% |
| Uzbekistan | 324 | 650 | 8.3% |
| Abkhazia | 596 | 606 | 7.7% |
| Tajikistan | 331 | 403 | 5.1% |
| Belarus | 143 | 319 | 4.1% |
| Armenia | 551 | 306 | 3.9% |
| Mongolia | 376 | 249 | 3.2% |
| Azerbaijan | 911 | 200 | 2.5% |
| South Ossetia | 142 | 168 | 2.1% |
| Georgia | 69 | 155 | 2.0% |
| Germany | 690 | 115 | 1.5% |
| Turkey | 87 | 101 | 1.3% |
Kazakhstan and China together account for 41.5% of the total inbound flow. At the same time, neither of these countries has recovered to the 2019 level: Kazakhstan has returned 59% of its former volume, China 61%.
The Chinese curve is indicative: 1,883 thousand trips in 2019, 18 thousand in 2021 (a drop by a hundredfold), 477 thousand in 2023, 1,212 thousand in 2024 and 1,147 thousand in 2025. Recovery lasted three years and stopped short of the previous level.
Where the one-third of the flow disappeared
In 2019 Ukraine provided 7,760 thousand inbound trips, almost a third of the entire flow and the top place by a large margin. In 2025 it was 32 thousand, i.e., 240 times less.
If Ukraine is removed from both points, the picture is softer but not radical: 16,659 thousand trips in 2019 versus 7,827 thousand in 2025. Even without accounting for the vanished direction, the inbound flow decreased by more than twice.
European destinations collapsed almost completely. Germany gave 115 thousand trips in 2025 against 690 thousand in 2019, Poland 21 thousand against 641 thousand, Finland 5.7 thousand against 896 thousand. The Finnish route, once one of the busiest, is now statistically invisible.
What grew
Against the backdrop of an overall decline, three directions added to 2019:
- Uzbekistan: 324 thousand trips in 2019, 650 thousand in 2025, growth twice as much
- Belarus: 143 thousand versus 319 thousand, growth 2.2 times
- Georgia: 69 thousand versus 155 thousand, growth 2.2 times
This is already a different type of trips. A significant part of the flow from Central Asia is counted as tourist trips, although the motive is work‑related or family‑related. Tourism statistics count border crossings with a specified purpose of visit, and they do not react immediately to a shift in motives.
Questions and answers
How many foreign tourists arrive in Russia?
7.86 million inbound tourist trips in 2025. Trips, not people, are counted: one person who came three times generates three trips.
Which country sends the most tourists to Russia?
Kazakhstan: 2.11 million trips in 2025, 26.9% of the total flow. In second place is China with 1.15 million.
Has inbound tourism recovered after COVID?
No. By 2025 the flow is 32% of the 2019 level. The peak of recovery was in 2024 (37%), after which the indicator fell again.
How many Chinese tourists arrive in Russia?
1.15 million trips in 2025 versus 1.88 million in 2019. In 2021 there were 18 thousand, i.e., the flow had practically stopped.
How does Rosstat count inbound trips?
Based on border service data on border crossings with the stated purpose of visit "tourism". The indicator covers all modes of transport and is published broken down by country of citizenship.
In short
Inbound tourism in Russia in 2025 amounted to 7.86 million trips versus 24.42 million in 2019, i.e., 32% of the pre‑COVID level. A third of the former flow came from Ukraine and disappeared completely; European destinations fell five‑to‑six times and more. The core of the current flow is held by Kazakhstan and China, together 41.5%, while both countries have recovered only to 60%. Only Uzbekistan, Belarus and Georgia have grown.
All rows are taken from open Rosstat publications and are updated on the website as new data become available.