MOSCOW, March 5 (RIA Novosti) – The number of foreign holidays taken by Russians jumped by one-fifth last year, with trips to Greece, Thailand and Spain driving the growth, the country’s travel industry union said Wednesday.
Nearly 18.3 million fun-seeking trips were taken in 2013, the union said, citing data from the State Statistics Service, an increase of 19 percent year-on-year.
Turkey, a perennial favorite for Russians seeking warmer temperatures and baklava, topped the list of most popular tourist destinations with 3 million tourists last year.
Vacations to Egypt came in second place with 1.9 million Russian tourists, although bloody civil unrest in the Middle Eastern nation did cause interest to tail off since the previous year. Russian tourism to Egypt increased just 0.14 percent in 2013, compared to a 31 percent rise in 2012.
Travel to Greece, Thailand and Spain hit all-time highs, with over a million tourists from Russia visiting each country for the first time in record-keeping history.
Finland experienced the largest tourism spike compared to 2012, growing 76.5 percent, followed by Greece, the third most popular destination, with 70 percent growth.
China was the fourth most popular tourist destination, followed by Thailand, Spain, Finland, Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
The overall number of trips abroad by Russians, including those for work, totaled 54 million in 2013, which was a 13 percent increase on the previous year.
