The Impact of Missing Russia and Ukraine Outbound Tourists
Photo Credit: Russian and Ukrainian outbound travelers favored beach destinations such as the Dominican Republic. Unsplash / Melisa Popanicic
Skift Take
This once resilient group of travelers is unlikely to bounce back anytime soon after all the global sanctions. It's too early to determine the broader impact of the absence of Russian and Ukrainian tourists, but it will be felt — whether through the loss of revenue for seaside resorts or more broadly from a new cloud of uncertainty for travel.
Ukraine Coverage
Skift’s reporters and editors are working to explain how the war on Ukraine is impacting travel. All of our stories about the subject are free for all readers.With Russia’s airspace closed to over 30 destinations and the ongoing war on Ukraine, it’s clear that the prolonged absence of travelers from these two destinations will be felt well beyond Europe.
In 2019 alone, Russian travelers took over 40 million trips, making up one of the fastest growing outbound markets as the sixth highest international visitor spending globally and an increasingly resilient market for beach destinations such as Turkey, Cyprus and India.
Of course, it's still too early to say just how much it will pinch these destinations but the loss of those tourists when a recovery is just getting started will be a setback.
When the pandemic upended travel for more than a year, Russian and Ukrainian travelers were among the few who fearlessly explored as soon as destinations reopened to them and eased entry. This meant heading farther afield for a handful of less likely warm weather destinations outside of Europe.
