Everything is quiet: the tourist flow to the Far East is growing at a record pace
The tourist flow to the Far East in the first half of the year exceeded 3 million trips, a record since 2022. Their number increased by 12% compared to the same period in 2024, the Rosselkhoznadzor estimated. The interest in the destination is spurred by wealthy travelers who have stopped traveling abroad and are looking for exotics inside the country, experts say. According to them, the potential of this destination is great, but the lack of proper hotels, tourist routes, and expensive flights prevents it from being realized. What measures will help to overcome this and how domestic tourism in the Russian Federation is growing in general — in the Izvestia article.
Tourist flow to the Far East
In January – June 2025, the tourist flow in the Far Eastern Federal District (Far Eastern Federal District) amounted to 3 million trips, which is 12% more than in the same period a year earlier. This is stated in a study by the Russian Agricultural Bank (RSHB), prepared on the eve of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). Izvestia has reviewed the document.
The growth rate of tourist traffic in the first half of the year has become a record since 2022, the RSHB noted. In terms of the number of trips, the tourist flow in the Far East has already overtaken the North Caucasus Federal District by 25%, the bank said.
For comparison, tourists made 41.4 million trips in Russia as a whole, which is 7% more than in the same period of 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko reported in August.
The most popular regions are Primorsky Krai (820,000 trips), Khabarovsk (520,000), the Republic of Buryatia (350,000) and Kamchatka Krai (300,000), according to the RSHB.
At the same time, a significant part of the tourist flow (45%) is located in the so-called gray zone, said Marina Merezhko, partner at the Commonwealth Partnership (CMWP). These are travelers who stay in the private sector, with friends, relatives, or prefer to relax wild in tents or campers, she explained.
Why is the tourist flow growing
The reserves and national parks located in this region contribute to the growth of the tourist flow to the Far East, according to the RSHB study. Rural tourism also stimulates an increase in interest in the region. The number of collective accommodation facilities (DACs, hotels, hotels and guest houses) located in rural areas has doubled from 2020 to 2024, to 1,000 facilities, analysts estimated.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Regional Development, the increase in tourist flow is also associated with an increase in the number of foreign tourists. In 2024, this figure became a record, reaching 349.4 thousand people, he told Izvestia.
— The Far East is turning from an elusive destination into a massive one, — said a source of Izvestia in a major tour operator. — Due to restrictions on travel to foreign countries, Russians began to look for exotics inside the country — the Valley of Geysers, volcanoes in Kamchatka, Lena Pillars in Yakutia, Wrangel Island.
The attractiveness of the region is also growing in the business tourism segment, a source from a major oil company told Izvestia. According to him, proximity to China and Japan "greatly simplifies" business communication with Asian partners, because "not every one of them is ready to fly to Moscow for brunch," he added.
The share of such tourists in the total flow to Vladivostok can reach 55-65%, Pavel Vasin, executive director of the Union of Business Tourism Agencies, told Izvestia. During the WEF period, this figure increases to 80-90%, he noted.
The development of the Far Eastern Federal District tourism industry was facilitated by the implementation of large investment projects, said a representative of the Ministry of Regional Development.
"First of all, these are the flagships of the Five Seas and Lake Baikal federal project: an all—season resort in the Khasansky district of Primorsky Krai (investments of 30 billion rubles) and the Magic Baikal resort in Buryatia (investments of 54.8 billion rubles)," he said.
What hinders the development of tourism
However, the growth rate of the tourist flow could have been higher, experts interviewed by Izvestia say. The development of tourism in the region is hampered by the lack of high—quality room stock - hotels and 3-5-star hotels, says Marina Merezhko from the Commonwealth Partnership.
The main volume of the offer is mini-hotels, recreation centers, camp sites and guest houses. These facilities can satisfy consumers in the warmer months, during periods of high demand, but are not suitable for full-fledged year-round recreation, including due to the lack of infrastructure for recreation with children, sports, recreation, events and family vacations, the expert added.
According to CMWP, by the beginning of 2025, the total number of rooms in the Far Eastern Federal District amounted to 64.5 thousand rooms in 2.5 thousand collective accommodation facilities. At least 14 thousand more rooms are in the gray area. In addition, at least 12 thousand units of apartments and houses are rented daily.
The transport infrastructure also remains a "weak link" in the Far Eastern Federal District, added Roman Gareev, Head of the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Flights from central Russia to key points in the Far Eastern Federal District (Vladivostok, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) take seven to nine hours, and the cost of air tickets can sometimes exceed the prices for destinations to Asia, he explained.
For example, according to Coral Travel, a vacation in the UAE (Dubai, Ras al Khaimah, Ajman) will cost an average of 66-69 thousand rubles per person for seven nights. A one-week tour to Chinese Hainan from Pegas Touristik tour operator will cost an average of 106-122 thousand. At the same time, package tours from Moscow to Kamchatka for the same period of time with a flight per person will average 120-170 thousand rubles, to Sakhalin — about 179 thousand, to Vladivostok — 111-208 thousand, it follows from the data Level.Travel .
The average cost of an air ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok in January – August, according to Yandex Travel, was 22.6 thousand rubles, which is 29% more than in the same period a year earlier. Flights from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk increased in price by 15%, to 26.5 thousand, and to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky by 13%, to 29.6 thousand. The average cost of a flight from Moscow to Khabarovsk was 18.7 thousand, which is 9% more than in the same period last year, according to the travel agent.
Prices for flights for business tourists have also skyrocketed, according to the Aero Club (which organizes business trips). Thus, the average cost of a one-way business class air ticket on the eve of the WEF this year was 308 thousand rubles, which is 13% higher than in 2024. Economy class increased in price by 24%, to 44.5 thousand rubles. A quarter of all flights were made in the business class cabin. 60% of the delegates went from Moscow to the WEF, according to the company's data.
The journey by rail from central Russia will take up to 160 hours, Roman Gareev noted. For some tourists, this is unacceptable in conditions of limited vacation time. The underdeveloped automotive infrastructure and insufficient cellular coverage in remote areas of the Far East discourage independent travelers who need to use the Internet and a navigator, he added.
A night in a three—star hotel in Vladivostok can cost from 5-7 thousand rubles in the season, and 20-30% more expensive in Kamchatka, the expert said.
The growth in demand, especially against the background of active marketing of the Far East in the domestic market, is outpacing the growth of tourist infrastructure, Marina Merezhko noted. According to her, this leads to higher prices during the peak season and an increase in the share of the gray market, which reduces the quality of services and significantly worsens the holiday experience.
The service suffers greatly during periods of increased workload, the infrastructure is overloaded, which affects both tourists and the mood of local residents, she added. In the meantime, demand is really being stimulated by travelers with above-average incomes, Roman Gareev concluded.
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