Here’s why Middle East tourists will love Moscow City
Moscow City Tourism Committee (Mostourism) is ramping up initiatives this year to substantially increase tourist arrivals to the Russian capital from the Middle East by launching a raft of curated marketing products and services for the region’s B2B and B2C outbound tourism segments.
Post-pandemic, Middle East residents – citizens and expats alike – are proving to be an attractive international tourist source for Moscow, with some 140,000 tourists – largely hailing from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, Israel and Iran – descending on the Russian capital in 2022.
This scenario also comes about as international tourist arrivals globally reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023, with an estimated 235 million tourists travelling internationally in the first three months of this year.
This is more than double those numbers in the same period of 2022, according to the latest data issued by the UNWTO World Tourism Organization.
Traditionally, Russia accounts for a little less than 40% of international tourist arrivals in Europe, according to the Madrid-headquartered UNWTO.
From once upon a time
Historically, and until 2012, Middle East tourists visiting Moscow had to largely contend with only being able to visit the capital’s traditional, Soviet era tourist sights – such as the Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Bolshoi Theatre, and Gorky Park, among others.
However, since 2013 the modern cosmopolitan city’s appeal as a global tourism hotspot has changed dramatically, for the better.
This follows the unbridled opening of new arts and culture spaces, museums, urban parks and recreational facilities, restaurants and cafes, an extensive and safe public transport system, new age events, street festivals, English signage throughout the city, digital information touch points for tourists and even a small number of English- and Arabic-speaking hospitality staff.
These are all key factors that are increasingly attracting Middle East tourists to Moscow – the capital of the largest country in the world, with its 11 time zones, distinct landmass, cultures and traditions.
Crucial tourism sector
So significant is the tourism industry to Moscow that the sector contributed 716.7 billion rubles ($7.86 billion/AED28.86 billion) to the capital’s coffers in 2021, and a further 366.1 billion rubles ($4.01 billion/AED14.72 billion) in the first half of 2022.
To incentivise Middle East tourists to visit Moscow, as also, other regions of Russia for leisure or business, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs allows Emirati and Qatari citizens a visa-free regime to visit for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
According to Vulat Nurmukhanov, Head of the Moscow Centre for International Cooperation, as of March 2022, the citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia can obtain a Russian visa based only on a valid hotel reservation and without having to first produce a tourist invitation from a Russia-based tourist company, a norm for most other nationalities.
Most expats hailing from Western Europe, the United States, Australia, Canada, Asia and Africa living in the Middle East must apply for a tourist visa at a Russian mission in the country they are residing in, ahead of their travel to Russia.
e-visa rollout
Nurmukhanov whose department implements the Moscow government’s cultural and economic programmes and projects abroad, added that Russia will soon unveil an e-visa protocol for 52 countries’ citizens and residents, a move that is expected to exponentially increase international tourist inflow into Moscow and the rest of Russia.
In addition, China and Iran – two countries that have been contributing significant tourist traffic to Moscow – will also be able to enjoy visa-free group travel, a measure that will permit tourist groups of five to 50 people to visit Russia without a visa, added Abdulnadirovich.
As per data supplied to menews247 by Mostourism (a Moscow government entity), a total of nine million tourists visited Moscow in the first half of 2022, 8.3 million of which originated from within Russia itself, with the balance 0.74 million tourists originating from countries neighbouring Russia and also from further afield.
Days’ long stay
The nine million tourists typically spent four to five days in Moscow, with the most number of foreign guests in Moscow hotels coming from Turkey, China, Iran, India and Germany.
The top five countries by number of trips to Moscow in H1 2022 were: Turkey, China, Iran, India and Germany respectively.
Those visiting the Russian capital in the same period from the Middle East and North Africa region arrived from Egypt, Iran, Israel, Turkey and the UAE respectively.
According to Mostourism, of the tourists who generally travel to Moscow City, 53% of them are female and 47% male, with an average age of 25-44 between the two. Also, 42% of the total tourist numbers tend to stay at city hotels or apartment hotels, with approximately 82% of them staying in 3- to 5-star hotels.
Advance planning
On average, 82% of Moscow tourists plan their trip independently and at least one month in advance.
Apart from focussing on a clutch of high-value countries in the Middle East region for additional inbound tourists to the capital city in 2023 and beyond, Mostourism is also engaged with bumping up arrivals from countries neighbouring Russia; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. India and China are also on the anvil.
With 400,000+ Moscow residents currently working in tourism and allied sectors, international and domestic tourism is gaining in importance for the city, while proving to be a key catalyst for other sectors of the economy.
Plan well, with RUSSPASS
In sync with the global tourism sector rapidly digitalising and personalising offerings for leisure and business travellers Mostourism conceptualised and is actively promoting RUSSPASS – an online travel planning asset bundled into a website and an app.
Easy-to-use and featuring a modular interface, the digital service which was launched in 2020 allows users to plan their whole trip programme to Moscow City, or any other region in Russia, while being able to book hotel rooms, purchase air, public transport, theatre and museum tickets, as well as making restaurant reservations.
Available as an app on the App Store and Google Play, and packed with travel tips RUSSPASS is an excellent digital-first resource for what to see and do across Russia – be it readymade tours and events or customising travel itineraries to suit one’s preferences.
RUSSPASS is available in English, Arabic, Spanish and Russian, and features 6,000+ tourist offers and 700+ tour operators, excursion offices and tour guides.
For further information: https://russpass.ru/discover-moscow
RUSSPASS on App Store: https://www.apple.com/ae/app-store/
RUSSPASS on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps
Say yes to Discover Moscow
discovermoscow.com is an information portal created by Mostourism and available in English, Russian and Chinese.
The website’s pastel colour coded sections feature the best of what the Russian capital city has to offer – encompassing must-see attractions, dining out options, trip plans, citywide events and happenings, and more.
For further information: https://discovermoscow.com/en/
Did you know this about Moscow City?
- According to legend, Moscow is a city of 7 hills
- Moscow metro system has 250 stations, of which 48 stations are cultural heritage sites
- It takes about 45 minutes to get from one end of Moscow to the other
- Moscow has 400+ theatres and studios
- Public Wi-Fi is available in main streets, in parks, and the metro network
- Moscow houses 400+ museums
- Ostankino Tower (540.1m) is the tallest structure in Moscow, Russia, and Europe
- Moscow has 80 bridges, with 35 across the Moskva River
- There are 7 iconic Soviet era art deco high-rise buildings known as ‘7 Sisters’
- Michelin Guide recommends 69 Moscow restaurants
- 60,000+ people visit GUM mall every day
- Moscow has 55 embankments, 25km in length
- The Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Highest point in Moscow is 165.7m above sea level
- 300 passenger boats cruise the Moskva River
- There are 5,000 streets, 700 lanes in Moscow
- Moscow has 4 seasons: summer, autumn winter, spring
- The Bolshoi Theatre auditorium has 879 seats
- 5 million people have used RUSSPASS since its launch in 2020
- Sun of Moscow is Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel (140m)
- Parks occupy almost 50% of the city’s area
- Moscow has 1,200 Russian Orthodox shrines, 3 Catholic churches, 4 mosques, 5 synagogues
Where to apply for a Russia tourist visa in the UAE or Saudi Arabia
UAE: Non-UAE citizens can apply for a Russia tourist visa at the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
For additional information: https://dubai.mid.ru/web/dubai-en/visas
Saudi Arabia: Non-Saudi citizens can apply for a Russia tourist visa at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Riyadh.
For additional information: https://riyadh.mid.ru/en/consular-services/visas/
Hero image: Moscow City skyline, viewed exclusively from the Bolshoi Theatre rooftop. Image: Arnold Pinto/menews247
Last Updated on 7 months by Arnold Pinto
