TEHRAN - Russian arrivals in Iran have soared some 2.2 percent this summer compared to the same period last year.

Demand for summer trips to Iran and Saudi Arabia among Russians has increased by 2.2 times over the year, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

On August 1, Tehran and Moscow officially agreed to implement a previously inked visa-free tourist exchange dedicated to groups of five to 50 travelers. In a similar agreement, Russia inaugurated another mutual visa-waiver program with China on the same day.

Based on data compiled by MegaFon, as RIA Novosti reports, the United Arab Emirates, despite the daytime air temperature in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi at 40 degrees, was visited by 37% more Russians. The Near and Middle East interested Russians in holidays in Iran (+115%) and Saudi Arabia (+123% ) In terms of the total number of tourists, the Near and Middle East bypassed the countries of Europe.

Moreover, it is noted that the flow of tourists to Europe has also increased. Thus, the growing destinations for summer leisure in this part of the world are Italy (+43% of tourists compared to the summer of 2022), Spain (+36%), France (+33%), Germany (+33%), Turkey (+27% ) and Greece (+25%).

The interest of Russians in Africa has noticeably grown. So, Tunisia received 3.5 times more Russians compared to last year. "Egypt has significantly increased in popularity, where 176% more tourists from Russia went this summer. Last summer, the country was only in seventh place in popularity among Russians, the 2023 season returned it to the top 5 most frequent foreign holiday destinations,” the Russian news agency said.

The flow to Asia increased by 39.4% - mainly due to increased interest in Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Indonesia. Trips to Cuba increased 16 times compared to last year's season, and to Venezuela more than quadrupled.

MegaFon specialists noted a decrease in the interest of Russians in summer holidays on the islands: travelers were less interested in the Dominican Republic and the Maldives than in 2022 - by 15% and 8%, respectively.

Earlier this year, Dmitry Arutyunov, general director of the Art Tour, said the demand for Russian tours to Iran was expected to grow due to the launch of visa-free travel for groups, according to the Russian Union of Travel Industry. “Our fellow citizens do not know anything about the country, but this is an interesting excursion destination for spring and autumn. There is an excellent ski resort, one of the highest in the world. Some of our tourists went there last winter and were going there this year. In the absence of alpine ski resorts, Iranian can be a good alternative,” Arutyunov said.

Moreover, the Russian tourism expert, Maria Novikova, has said Iran has become an alternative to closed countries, primarily Europe. At the same time, the prices for traveling there are low.

AFM