More than 70,000 EU citizens have arrived in Russia since the beginning of 2026.

More than 71,000 EU residents have visited Russia since January 2026. Statistics on May 19 are provided by RIA Novosti.

According to available information, 71,730 Europeans arrived in the country during the reporting period. Almost 30 thousand of them were in Russia on private business, and about 19.5 thousand more were as tourists. About 7.8 thousand people came for business purposes.

Germany has become the leader in the number of arrivals among the EU countries. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania followed. Italy also entered the top five. 2,296 and 863 people arrived on work and study visas, respectively.

Passing on the fare: Europe and China have become more likely to trade in transit through the Russian Federation

How is this possible in the era of sanctions and what investments can Russia attract?

Analysts of the online hotel and apartment booking service Ostrovok told Izvestia on March 24 that the demand of foreign tourists for trips to Russia increased to 44% in 2025. The top most active foreign tourists in Russia in 2025 included travelers from China, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and India.