
Auto tourism has become the predominant holiday format for Russians in recent years, the number of bookings in neighboring regions has increased, for example, Moscow residents are traveling to the Moscow region and the Tver region, said RST President Ilya Umansky.
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Auto tourism is gaining popularity among Russians as a form of recreation, especially in the context of restrictions on international travel and the growth of domestic tourism.
Auto tourism has become the predominant holiday format for Russians in recent years.
The number of bookings by Russians in neighboring regions has increased, for example, Moscow residents went to the Moscow region and nearby regions.
Ilya Umansky identified a dozen destinations for summer holidays for Russians, including the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Moscow Region and other regions.
MOSCOW, September 30 - RIA Novosti. Auto tourism has become more popular among Russian tourists in recent years, and the number of trips to neighboring regions has also increased, Ilya Umansky, president of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (RST), told RIA Novosti.
“In recent years, automobile tourism has become the prevailing format for recreation for Russians,” Umansky said, noting that it was automobile tourism that played a significant role in changing the choice of locations among travelers.
The head of the PCT added that this summer the number of bookings by Russians in neighboring regions has increased. For example, Moscow residents went to the Moscow region and nearby regions, in particular, the number of bookings in the Tver region increased.

The Dominican Republic is recognized as the most expensive destination for a package holiday for Russians in 2026, with an average tour cost of 417.4 thousand rubles for eight nights, according to a study by the Turvisor aggregator. In second place are the Maldives (409 thousand rubles), in third place is Mexico (393.5 thousand rubles). The most affordable destination was Belarus (~70 thousand rubles). In Russia, the average cost of a vacation was 74.4 thousand rubles for six nights. Exotic destinations remain niche: five-star tours to the Maldives accounted for just 1.5% of bookings versus 47.4% for Turkey.

Sanya, China's leading resort city on Hainan Island, has developed a more diversified, safer, and accessible tourism system through innovation and better service quality, enabling year-round tourist flow. Activities like surfing, yacht trips, and diving are growing in popularity, supported by government inspections and new regulations effective May 1. Foreign tourism rose 41.4% last year to over 1 million visitors.

The Kemerovo region took ninth place in the rating of tourist attractiveness of the Russian Geographical Society for 2025 with an index of 0.44. Over the year, the region received about 693.5 thousand tourists.

Türkiye, Egypt and the UAE topped the ranking of popular destinations for organized tourism for Russians in 2025. 3.713 million people visited Turkey, 1.96 million visited Egypt, and almost 1.16 million visited the UAE.

In France, it is planned to introduce mandatory accommodation reservations for tourists on the Tour du Mont-Blanc route from the spring of 2027, limit free overnight stays in tents, create a green brigade for control and limit the transportation of large luggage due to the growing burden of mass tourism on nature and infrastructure.

Arkhyz, Krasnaya Polyana and Kostroma are among the top 3 popular destinations for autumn holidays for Russians in 2026, according to OneTwoTrip. The average duration of vacation was 2.4 days, and the cost of a night’s stay was 10.7 thousand rubles. The share of solo travelers increased to 23%, park hotels and cottages became the main trends of the season.