Russia

From 22 May we will be working to update all of the data and documents on this page following the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revision of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for 2009-2018 and the released detailed 2019 data. UK data will be updated first and followed by the regional data from 27 May. Please be patient as we update these pages or contact the VisitBritain research team if you have any questions- VB/VEResearch@visitbritain.org. Thank you.

Visitor characteristics

Business visitors are more than twice as likely to be male than female
73% 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
99% of departing Russians say they are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday or short-break

Popular activities

Visited a Pub

Visited Parks/ Gardens

Went Shopping

Global context

Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	34.3
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	9
Number of outbound visits (m)	32.2
Most visited destination	Turkey
Most visited destination in Western Europe	Italy

Key demographic and economic data

Measure	2019
Population (m)	145.9
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	27,838
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.8
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%)	1.3

Russia Market Profile (PDF, 1.36MB)

visitbritain_marketprofile_russia.pdf

Russia Market Snapshot (PDF, 298KB)

russia_fact_sheet_july_2019.pdf

Russia Aviation Profile (PDF, 379KB)

russia_aviation_profile_20190613.pdf

Find out where visitors from Russia to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 212KB, Published 2013)

annual_states_of_residence_2018_for_web.xlsx

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 86.4564 RUB

As of 3 June 2020

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Russia

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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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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 a broadly positive perception of the UK especially for contemporary culture
Perceptions of ‘welcome’ and ‘scenic natural beauty’ are less favourable
58% associate the UK with museums, 50% with music and 48% with films in 2019
46% 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 £95
In 2019, there were 70 weekly departures with an average of 12,238 seat capacity
The Moscow to London corridor is the most travelled
Passengers destined for Moscow pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling economy class

Markets

Markets

Russia

Russia