Demand for Schengen visa drops by 10-20% in September
MOSCOW. Sept 22 (Interfax) - The European Union's discussions of suspending issuance of visas for Russian tourists as part of sanctions had cooled the demand for their application this fall by 10-20%, VCP Travel's general director and an expert at the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Mikhail Abasov, said.
"At the beginning of the year we registered an increased interest in Europe and predicted a 20% rise in applications by the end of 2025. However, the frenzy around sanctions has corrected this: by our data, the demand this fall is already down 10-20%," Abasov said.
At present, around 15% of tourists will either delay traveling until next year or switch to other destinations such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Asia, he said.
Dmitry Arutyunov, who co-chairs the Union's committee for outbound tourism, concurred with him. The unstable situation around the issuance of Schengen visas and the prospect of possible restrictions is increasingly spurring tourists to switch to visa-free destinations, in particular the Middle Eastern and Asian countries, he said.
"These destinations are in high demand thanks to the diversity, the convenience of transport and visa absence. This global switch is well visible on China: as soon as it scrapped visas, the demand for this country in our company has tripled instantly," Arutyunov was quoted by his organization as saying.
The situation remains unstable: consulates have tightened checks, requesting evidence of trips on previous visas, including checks, tickets and hotel bookings, even if their passports contains a stamp of a Schengen member, he said.
"This is related to the rise in instances of the so-called 'visa shopping' where a visa applicant chooses a convenient country with no real intention of visiting it, which has now become one of the key reasons for refusal," the Union said.
In the first half of September, some EU countries proposed a total ban on Russian tourists as part of the 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions. The proposal came after a rise in Russian tourist number. The EC prepared the new package but did not include visa restrictions. However, these may appear in December.
Experts forecast that the EC's December plans to toughen the visa requirements, including reducing quotas for Russians and prioritizing business and family applications over tourism ones, would prompt a rush in filing visa documentation.
In 2019, over 4.1 million Schengen visa applications were filed by Russians, more than citizens of any other country. The refusal rate was 1.5%; it was five times that in 2024. In 2024, Russians filed 606,600 Schengen applications, of which 541,800 were granted.
