Russians go on 39 mln tours within country in H1 2024 - economic development minister
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Russian tourists went on 39 million tours in Russia in the first half of this year, which is a 12% increase from 2023, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said.
"The interest in traveling in Russia remains high. Thirty-nine million tours were carried out in the first half of this year, which is almost 12% more than last year. And to be more exact, 11.8%. Speaking about the summer season, the increase was five percent in May and 12.8% in June," he said at a government meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
Traditional centers of attraction, Moscow and Krasnodar Territory, made the main contribution to summer tourism, Reshetnikov said.
"I will note the recovery of tourism to St. Petersburg, where our tourists and guests from Middle Eastern countries and China have fully substituted those from Europe, who accounted for most of the tourism there. And I would note separately the Crimean Peninsula, which has kept tourist at last year's level despite the difficult situation. And I think will even exceed it," he said.
Dagestan, Samara and Khabarovsk are becoming centers of attraction which are actively growing, he said.