According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), 84 percent fewer Russian visitors came to Europe in 2022. With the start of this year’s summer season, this figure will probably not change much.
Russian tourists galore are a thing of the past in Europe. While the wealthiest Russians continue to visit the region, middle-class tourists have all but disappeared as they increasingly struggle with logistical difficulties and costs.
The reason for this, of course, is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has prompted the West to erect barriers in support of its embattled ally not seen since the dark days of the Cold War.
But how is this loss of Russian tourists affecting Europe? We take a look at two destinations that border Russia and two that used to receive hordes of Russian tourists to learn more about.
Latvia is looking to untapped tourism markets to fill the gap
Latvia has long been a magnet for Russian travelers due to its location and historical ties as part of the Soviet Union.
The tiny Baltic state’s vibrant tourism industry has been hit like many by the COVID pandemic, but the loss of visitors from Russia has compounded that.
Out of solidarity with Ukraine, an entry ban for Russian tourists was imposed in September 2022. The country’s foreign minister, Edgar Rinkevics, tweeted: “You are not welcome here – you must end the war against Ukraine and get out of this beautiful country!” “Russia was an important market,” says Vladislavs Korjagins, CEO of the Baltic Travel Group to Euronews Travel. “Of course we miss him.”
“From an economic point of view, this decision may not have helped local businesses. But on a political level, we support Ukraine.”
“It’s the right decision,” he adds. “People understand that we cannot welcome Russian tourists while their soldiers are attacking Ukrainians.”
The “biggest blow” of the Ukraine war was that many Westerners now saw the Baltics as unsafe and possibly a “next target” for Russian troops, Koryagins explains.
The Latvian tourism sector estimates that about 70 percent of group bookings were canceled after the February 2022 invasion. But the industry is not idly accepting of these losses.
It has diversified into new, untapped markets like the Gulf and has become more efficient by reducing labor costs, Koryagins said.
“The truth is: we have adapted,” he adds.
Finland encourages domestic tourism
Around 1.2 million Russian day-trippers traveled across the border into eastern Finland by bus or car each year before the Kremlin fully invaded, official figures show.
While some checked into hotels, most spent their money in the local supermarkets – an average of €170 per day in the town of Lappeenranta.
But a large part of the tourist infrastructure in the Finnish lake district was not necessarily dependent on Russian tourists, even if they came in large numbers.
“Those that were really geared towards cross-border traffic are no longer in business,” explains Mirka Rahman, Lappeenranta’s tourism director.
“There were many minibuses and larger buses that brought the daily visitors, but they were all Russian and not Finnish companies.”
“They bought clothes, detergent, chocolate, fish, mostly groceries from the supermarket because Finnish brands are known for their high quality. Some of them they took with them for themselves and some they wanted to take home and sell”, she tells Euronews Travel.
The pre-war tide of visitors that inundated the EU’s longest border with Russia has now dwindled to a trickle, limited to dual nationals or those with visas allowing them entry and exit. The South Karelia region, whose largest city is Lappeenranta, has lost around 100,000 Russian overnight stays since the war began.
However, the region has shifted to marketing the Finns more as a domestic holiday destination, while also looking to customers in Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries – tourists who spend far more per day than their Russian counterparts, Rahman notes.
“Trends have changed,” says Rahman. “Nobody here expects the Russians to return.”
Spain no longer welcomes spend-happy Russian tourists
This does not only affect those who live on Russia’s borders. Though the country has never been a major source of visitors to Spain – eclipsed by the English, Germans and French – Russians have been one of the fastest-growing groups in recent years, data from the Salou Cambrils La Pineda Hotel Association shows.
About 1.3 million Russian travelers came to the southern European country in 2019, accounting for 1.3 percent of the total, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute.
Yet their absence is still palpable, especially as some regions have relied more on Russian tourists than others, such as the Costa Dorada, where they accounted for between 10 and 15 percent of all visitors.
“Last year the effects of the lack of tourism were clearly felt and this year it’s being felt again,” Albert Savé, president of the Hotel Association of the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, told Euronews Travel.
He says there were 1,290,000 overnight stays in the region in 2019, which have now dropped to zero – apart from the “one or two Russians” who came by car or via Turkey or Finland. What set the Russians apart, Savé continued, was their high level of luxury consumption, which supported local specialty shops.
“When they were here, [the Russians] spent a lot of money because they came from far away… They went on a lot of trips… [and] bought local produce… because of the attraction of wine, oil, Sausage… clothes,” he says.
“Their behavior was different from that of the British who came for the sun”.
The Czech Republic is struggling with inflation and a drop in visitor numbers
As in Spain, Czech spas have also seen a sharp decline in wealthy Russian visitors. The towns of Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne and Frantiskovy Lazne saw a glimmer of hope when UNESCO declared them World Heritage Sites in 2021.
But their joy was short-lived.
As Russia’s tanks drove across the Ukrainian border, the central European country joined in European sanctions against the country.
The proportion of Russian guests — who spend the most money and also stay much longer than locals — fell from 61,000 in 2019 to just a few thousand last year.
“The average Czech tourist spends around 700 kroner (30 euros) per day. Russian-speaking guests spend more than 3,500 kroner (150 euros)”, says Czech tourism director Jan Herget. However, the loss of Russian tourists was only part of the problem.
The health resorts are also struggling with staff shortages. Unemployment in the Czech Republic has risen by 3.5 percent over the past two years and inflation has only just fallen from a record high of 18 percent in September.
Source : Euro News