Addis Ababa, March 20, 2025 (FMC) – Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov emphasised that Russia aims to increase the number of foreign tourists to 16 million, i.e. almost four times, by 2030.
“In general, we are moving towards achieving this goal: last year the number of foreign guests increased by more than a third. The measures that have been launched over the past two years are paying off,” he said.
Last year the tourist flow to the country increased thanks to the introduction of electronic visas and the resumption of visa-free regime with China and Iran, as well as comprehensive promotion of domestic tourist products.
Deputy Director General of the Centre for Strategic Research (CSR) Yulia Maksutova noted the effectiveness of the projects implemented jointly with the regions in 2023, which allowed to increase tourist traffic from Iran, China, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and India by 4-10 times.
In 2025, the list of target markets has been expanded to include Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, TV BRICS reported citing the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.