The number of tourist trips made by Russians to the 15 most popular destinations abroad rose by 43% from January-September 2022 year-on-year to 7.5 mln visits, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reported, citing figures provided by the Federal Security Service’s border force.

"During the first three quarters of 2022 Russians made around 7.5 mln visits for tourism and recreation to the 15 most popular travel destinations, including the states of the former Soviet Union, which is a 43% increase compared with the same period in 2021," the report said.

The number of foreign tourist trips grew due to the cancellation of COVID-related restrictions in the majority of countries, charter flights set for winter destinations, uninterrupted flights to Turkey, and an increase in the volume of aviation service to the UAE and Egypt, ATOR explained.

According to data from the association’s analytical service, from January-September Turkey was visited by 3.5 mln Russians, Abkhazia - 1.8 mln, Egypt - 609,900, the UAE - 575,000, the Maldives - 143,500, Thailand - 103,400. Moreover, the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey was almost unchanged from last year, to Abkhazia - up by 18%, to Egypt - increased 2.2-fold, to the UAE - up by 95%, whereas Russia’s tourist flow to the Maldives decreased by 20%. The tourist flow to Thailand soared "by thousands of percent" as the country was closed for most of 2021. The Dominican Republic, Serbia, Sri Lanka and Qatar were also among the top ten most popular destinations for Russian tourists.