The Strategic Development Center examined the tendency of foreign tourists from 11 Asian and Middle Eastern countries who had visited Russia within the previous 12 months to travel there again. The survey, conducted between June and August, assessed tourists' intentions to revisit Russia and their travel-planning habits.
Indian tourists rank first
Tourists from India expressed the highest level of intention to return to Russia. The figure was 82% in India, 68% in Vietnam, 67% in Türkiye and 64% in the United Arab Emirates.
The intention to travel again was 62% in Qatar, 60% in China, 59% in Indonesia, 56% in Malaysia and 50% in Bahrain. The figure was 48% in Saudi Arabia and 33% in Oman.
Overall, 65% of tourists from Asian countries and 54% of tourists from Middle Eastern countries said they were considering traveling to Russia again.
Social media influences travel planning
Tourists from Asian countries rely most heavily on social media platforms and video-sharing services when planning their trips. Tourists from Middle Eastern countries, meanwhile, more often turn to recommendations from relatives, friends and acquaintances.
The survey found that travel decisions are generally made months before the trip. Among tourists from Asia, 37% planned their trips three to six months in advance, while 29% planned them one to two months in advance. The share of spontaneous trips remained at 3%.
Tourists from the Middle East had shorter planning periods. In this group, 37% of trips were planned one to two months in advance and 24% three to six months in advance, while spontaneous trips accounted for 9%.