The number of tourist trips made by Russian citizens to Armenia increased by 34.1% in January-September 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching 383.3 thousand, reports Interfax, citing data from the Russian FSB Border Service.
Armenia ranked eighth among foreign destinations most popular with Russian tourists. The top ten also includes Turkey, China, Egypt, Abkhazia, UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Georgia, and Uzbekistan.
Overall, in nine months, Russians traveled abroad for tourism 11.42 million times, which is 13.7% more than in the same period of 2025, when there were 10.04 million trips recorded.
Among popular destinations, the most significant increase in tourist flow was recorded in Vietnam; the number of trips to that country rose 3.8 times, reaching 580 thousand. For China, the figure grew by 67% to 1.61 million, and for Egypt by 30.9%, reaching 1.5 million.
According to the Russian Tour Operators Association (ATOR), the increase in trips to Vietnam is linked to the expansion of direct flight programs and the increased availability of flights with transit stops in China. The popularity of China is supported by the visa-free regime for Russians, expansion of the route network, and increased flight frequency by Chinese airlines.
At the same time, tourist flow to the UAE decreased by 43.1%, amounting to 646.3 thousand trips. ATOR associates this with the crisis in the Middle East and the slow recovery of air communication. The number of trips to Sri Lanka decreased by 26.8% to 39.5 thousand, partly due to cuts in charter programs and cancellation of affordable transit flights through Middle Eastern countries.
In total, in January-September, Russians traveled abroad 25.38 million times for all purposes, which is 5.9% more than a year ago.
By total number of departures, Armenia also entered the top ten foreign destinations: in nine months, Russians visited the country 952 thousand times, which is 18.1% higher than the figure for the same period in 2025. By this indicator, Armenia ranked seventh.
Thus, the growth in the number of tourist trips to Armenia almost doubled the overall growth in the total number of trips made by Russians to the country, including non-tourist visits.
