Ukraine war impact: Russia's 'window to the West' turns to visitors from the East

Alexandra Kulikova used to come across plenty of different European languages on the streets of Saint Petersburg, the iconic city founded by Peter the Great as Russia’s “window to the West”.

“You could hear English, French or Italian being spoken everywhere… and we were always full,” Kulikova, the co-owner of a chain of apartment rentals in the city, told AFP.

But the Kremlin’s military offensive in Ukraine – and the barrage of sanctions it triggered – effectively sealed Russia off to most would-be Western travellers, seriously knocking the country’s tourism industry.

Russia is now looking to visitors from Asia and the Middle East to fill the void.

“I see huge numbers of Chinese groups, Arabic tourists travelling with their families, Indians,” Kulikova said.

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“But they must be very rich, because they stay in luxury hotels, not in apartments,” she added.

That has put pressure on her business, including previously hotly sought apartments offering breathtaking views over the golden-domed St. Isaac’s Cathedral in the heart of the city.

Reorganisation 

Alongside a political climate that has grown even more hostile and unwelcoming towards the West and Westerners, sanctions and logistical difficulties have further complicated travel.

Direct flights with the European Union, Britain and the United States have been suspended.

And Visa and Mastercard bank cards can’t be used inside Russia.

All that has combined to spark a “reorganisation of tourism towards the East”, said Sergei Kalinin, who heads an association of guide-interpreters in Saint Petersburg.

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During the first quarter of 2024, almost half of all foreign tourists who visited Russia came from China – an estimated 99,000 of 218,000.

Around 8,400 came from Germany – the most of any Western country – down two-thirds on the numbers that visited in 2019, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators.

A lot in common

In the former imperial capital – famed for its grandiose palaces and picturesque canals – the transformation is stark.

At a Saint Petersburg train station on a long summer evening, groups of mostly Chinese tourists were rushing to catch night trains departing for Moscow.

“Russia is an interesting country, and now it’s easier to get here. There are electronic visas,” Liu Yitin, a 60-year-old waiting to board told AFP.

“There are many tourist sites in Russia, and our countries have a lot in common,” Yitin added.

China has become Russia’s most important political and economic ally amid its offensive in Ukraine, and the two leaders – Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – regularly embrace each other as “old friends” on the world stage.

While Western governments have strongly advised their citizens against travelling to Russia, Beijing has issued no such warning, and Chinese tourism to Russia has grown exponentially.

“There are many Chinese (people) who want to visit Moscow,” said Xia Kosinai – a young Chinese guide in Moscow who was leading a group of some two dozen on a trip from Shanghai.

“They only know Russia from television,” she told AFP.

“Because of the fighting in Ukraine, they are a little afraid. But everything is fine” once they arrive in Russia, she said.

Not very optimistic

Amid isolation in the West, Russia’s authorities have sought to facilitate more travel opportunities with citizens from so-called “friendly” nations.

Moscow is eyeing up visa-free travel with Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries and wants to increase direct flights to China and Iran, the Russian economy ministry has said.

Saint Petersburg has also boosted its own marketing.

City officials travelled to trade shows in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu in May, after hitting a spate of similar events in India.

They hope to visit 16 major trade fairs this year across Asia, the Middle East and former Soviet states, the city said.

Despite all these efforts, many in the industry say Russia still faces an acute shortage of tourists.

“It’s not like it used to be,” said Maria Khilkova, a tour guide in Saint Petersburg.

“Even with the Chinese (tourists) there is no big tourist flow, it can’t be compared to what it was like before Covid,” she said.

The city has become heavily reliant on internal tourists instead.

Foreigners represented only six percent of the approximately nine million who visited Saint Petersburg in 2023.

Before the pandemic they accounted for half.

“I’m not very optimistic,” said Khilkova.

“It will take at least five years for everything to recover.”