In 2024, Morocco stands out among the most sought-after tourist destinations for Russians, recording an 81% increase in visa applications, despite increased global competition and tighter visa restrictions in other countries. regions.
In 2024, Russian travelers have significantly broadened their horizons, making 13% more international trips compared to the previous year, reports the Russian daily “Kommersant”. This increase is supported by a marked interest in Morocco, which dominates the charts with a remarkable increase of 81% in the demand for tourist and business visas.
At the end of 2024, the visa market for Russian nationals has undergone a real transformation, with a 2.7-fold increase in visa applications for Japan compared to the previous year, and an increase of 37 % for China, according to estimates from the business tourism agency Continent Express.
According to Tatiana Lenshina, executive director of Trivio, overall demand for visas for foreign destinations has jumped 90% over the past year. This growth takes place in a context of strong expansion in outbound tourist flows. Booming destinations include, in addition to Morocco, Vietnam, with growth of 2.8 times over one year, Mauritius at 2.2 times, China at 2.1 times and Japan at 80%. Yulia Otvagina, deputy director of the visa and migration department of Continent Express, points out that the flow of Russian tourists abroad has generally increased by 26% in 2024.
-Meanwhile, the increase in Russian travel to European countries was 7% in 2024. Leading destinations include France with an increase of 19%, Italy with 11%, and Spain with 9%, together accounting for 33% of tourist flow from Russia to Europe.
Meanwhile, demand for visas to Saudi Arabia also increased by 58%. India recorded an increase of 36%, while the United Kingdom saw its requests increase by 28%. According to Yulia Otvagina, demand for African countries will more than double in 2024. The expertise reveals growing popularity for destinations such as Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Congo, South Africa, Nigeria and Libya. On the other hand, there was a 12% drop in visa demand for the United States, although MTS Travel indicates that the overall volume of travel to this country remained stable during the year.
