Russia

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information.

The 2021 data is ‘incomplete’ as Eurotunnel data was unavailable for the entire year. In addition, interviewing at Dover restarted from Q3 2021 and pseudo records for the Irish land border were also removed in 2021. More info can be found on the 2021 inbound page.

For 2022, Eurotunnel data was also unavailable for the first half of the year. Interviewing at Eurostar was not affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 or the first half of 2022. The ONS restarted IPS interviews at all ports from July 2022. The latest data can be found on the monthly and quarterly pages.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019.

Visitor characteristics

Business visitors are more than three times as likely to be male than female
72% of holiday visitors are making a repeat visit to Britain (excluding British nationals)
Nearly all visits from Russia to Britain are made by Russian nationals
98% of departing Russians say they are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday or short-break

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Sightseeing of Famous Buildings/ Monuments

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	36.2
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	6
Number of outbound visits (m)	31.1
Most visited destination	Turkey
Most visited destination in Western Europe	Spain

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2022
Population (m)	144.9
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	31,763
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	0.6
Annual GDP growth (%)	-3.3

Russia Market Snapshot (PDF, 894KB)

Russia Aviation Profile (PDF, 520KB)

Russia COVID-19 Travel Sentiment (PDF, 475KB, Published April 2022)

Find out where visitors from Russia to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2019)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = RUB

As of 22 March 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Russia

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Drag to change year on charts and tables.

Touch the data points to see the values.

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Russians think about Britain

Russians have positive perception of the UK's contemporary culture, culture generally, historic buildings, and vibrant cities
Perceptions of ‘welcome’ and ‘scenic natural beauty’ are less favourable
50% associate the UK with museums, 42% with music in 2022
38% think that a trip to Britain would be ‘educational’
France and Italy are the destinations that Russians most often deem to be the best place for delivering on the things that are most wanted for ensuring an enjoyable holiday experience
Activities that appeal to potential Russian visitors include 'taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England', 'staying the night in a fairy-tale castle', 'enjoying a traditional afternoon tea', 'visiting Madame Tussauds', and 'shopping for quirky gifts in a seaside town'

Caring for visitors

The majority of travellers to Britain speak English and do not expect to be spoken to in Russian - however they prefer to have materials and information in Russian and Russian speaking guides for sightseeing tours and detailed itineraries and guides in Russian are highly appreciated
Russians book very last-minute, 66% of Russian visitors booked within two months of their arrival in Britain
The majority of Russian tourists (middle and lower middle class in particular) prefer to travel in groups
By contrast more wealthy Russians prefer individual travel
Russian tourists are adventurous – they are active, sociable, and seeking new experiences
British pubs are generally loved and pub food usually goes down well
They like the reassurance of branded hotels and all-inclusive trips

The leisure & travel trade

Friends, family and colleagues are the most influential information source for Russian visitors, closely followed by information from search engines.
Working through tour operators, travel agents make up of more than 50% of all holiday bookings (travel and accommodation combined) in Russia
Large tour operators research their programmes in February and March and August and September

Access to Britain from Russia


Measure	2019
Weekly aircraft departures	70
Weekly seat capacity	12,238
Airports with direct routes in Russia	5
Airports with direct routes in Britain	4

Visitors from Russia require a standard visitor visa to visit Britain – with a multi-entry six-month visa currently costing £100
In 2019, there were 70 weekly departures with an average of 12,238 seat capacity
The Moscow to London corridor is the most travelled
As a result of the war in Ukraine there are currently no non-stop flights between Russia and the UK
Passengers destined for Moscow pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling economy class

Markets

Russia