So far in 2026, the most popular countries among Russian tourists are Turkey, Egypt and China, while Thailand and Vietnam are fourth and fifth, respectively, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia, told TASS.

And in the near abroad, the expert noted the top three most popular destinations among Russians: Belarus, Abkhazia, and Armenia.

In the first half of 2026, Armenia was visited by 23.3% more Russians compared to the same period in 2025.

During the first six months of the current year, 416,743 tourists from Russia were registered in Armenia, while in January-June 2025, a total of 338,052 Russian tourist arrivals were recorded in the country. The share of Russians in the total tourist flow to Armenia also increased during this period, from 37.3% to 40%.

In total, 1,041,598 tourists visited Armenia during the reporting period, which is 14.8% more than in the first half of 2025.