Preferred Summer Holiday Spots for Russians, According to Experts
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Russians are increasingly venturing abroad, with a year-over-year traffic increase of 54% on hotel and travel accommodation booking sites. According to recent data, the most popular booking platforms among Russians are Yandex Travel, Ostrovok, Suitochka.ru, and "101 hotels." [1]
When it comes to mobile connectivity while traveling, Beeline offers a solution through its roaming constructor. This tool allows clients to manage their roaming services, selecting minutes, gigabytes, and limits for cards and messengers. [2]
One of the key reasons for prioritising connectivity is safety, as demonstrated by a recent incident in Turkey. With this in mind, Beeline also offers a discounted internet package for travel to specific destinations, including Turkey, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, UAE, and the Maldives. [2]
In terms of travel destinations, Turkey, UAE, China, Thailand, and a combination of Japan, Cyprus, and Vietnam top the list for Russian tourists in 2025. [1]
Turkey, with its beach resorts, historic sites, direct flights, visa-free access, Russian-speaking staff, and affordable luxury, remains a firm favourite. The UAE, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is favoured for luxury shopping, desert adventures, and exclusive experiences. [1]
China, with a strong increase in visitors, is attracting many Russians due to its megacities (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong), Hainan Island beaches, and medical tourism. Easier visa procedures and direct flights support this trend. [2] [5]
Thailand, known for its exotic, budget-friendly beach vacations, is another popular choice, with resorts like Phuket and Pattaya seeing increased Russian tourist flows. [1] [5]
Georgia, with its wine country and mountain tourism, is also a popular destination. [1]
Vietnam, Tunisia, Maldives, Oman, and Egypt have shown the highest growth in roaming activations, reflecting increasing interest in these destinations. [3]
In June 2025, the most popular travel destinations for Beeline clients were Kazakhstan, Turkey, Belarus, Uzbekistan, China, and Armenia. [4]
When it comes to booking these trips, Russians are largely making decisions online. Yandex Travel is a popular choice for travel planning and booking flights and accommodations online. [1]
Telegram and VK (VKontakte) are also frequently used for travel inspiration, trip ideas, and sharing experiences. Although specific accommodation platforms are not named in the search results, it's typical that Russians use international platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, and local alternatives integrated with the Yandex or VK ecosystems, given their preference for online bookings, clear pricing, and convenience. [1]
Men predominantly use OneTwoTrip for their accommodation bookings. [1]
In addition to these trends, it's recommended to disable automatic app updates and synchronization with cloud services to save data while roaming. Detailed instructions on enabling VoWiFi, which allows calls and SMS to be made using a home tariff when connected to Wi-Fi in a hotel or café, can be found on Beeline's website. [2]
Many Beeline clients choose a combination of traffic volume and messenger limits that include free writing, calling, and file sharing in Telegram and WhatsApp, as well as unlimited navigation app usage. [2]
In June 2025, the top 3 in growth for booking sites were trip.com, Yandex Travel, and OneTwoTrip. Without considering CIS countries, the top 5 international destinations were Turkey and China, followed by Abkhazia, Georgia, Egypt, and Thailand. [4]
High interest was also shown by residents of Krasnodar, Kazan, Rostov, and Stavropol. [4]
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] - Various industry reports and surveys.
- With the rise in online booking, many Russians utilize international travel platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, and local alternatives integrated with Yandex or VK ecosystems, particularly to plan and book trips to destinations such as Turkey, UAE, China, Thailand, Georgia, Vietnam, and more.
- To ensure a seamless technology-integrated lifestyle while traveling, Russians often turn to Beeline's roaming constructor for managing mobile connectivity, allowing them to easily select and manage data limits for various apps like Telegram or WhatsApp, especially when venturing to popular destinations like Turkey, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, UAE, and the Maldives.