Share of tourists from Middle East growing in Russia

The share of tourists from the Middle East planning to visit Russia in winter surged to almost 40% over the year, according to the research by the online hotel booking service Ostrovok.ru.

"Tourists from Middle East countries form the bulk of the demand for travels in Russia - they account for 38% of all bookings, while their total share was much smaller last year and stood at 23%. The greatest portion of bookings comes from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait and Oman," the service said.

Tourists from European countries make about a quarter of all foreign winter bookings. Asian tourists account for 19% of bookings. CIS countries have the share of 10% of all foreign bookings.