Russians’ Foreign Travel Picks Up Despite Wartime Hurdles

Direct flights between Russia and Europe are virtually nonexistent due to mutual airspace bans between Moscow and the European Union, while several EU members have imposed visa restrictions on Russian nationals.

The FSB recorded 4.9 million trips abroad on tourism, work, study and business by Russians in January-March 2023, a 26.2% increase from 3.9 million trips the same time last year. 

Tourist trips to foreign countries also jumped to 1.7 million, a nearly 50% increase over 1.2 million in the same period of 2022.

Turkey, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates were among the destinations with the highest increases in visits, with increases ranging…