Sergei Sobyanin: 24.5 million people visited Moscow in 2023
The Russian capital’s tourism industry again broke records in 2023, despite the sanctions. 24.5 million people visited Moscow. The tourism consumption rate reached RUB 1.3 trillion, exceeding the 2019 figures, as announced by Sergei Sobyanin in his blog.
According to him, the industry allows the city to receive RUB 178 billion. These funds can be allocated to build about 70 schools or 16 kilometers of new metro lines.
“There is a general Russian trend towards the development of domestic tourism in Moscow: the bulk of the visitors-more than 22 million people-came to Moscow from Russian regions. The Russian capital received 2.3 million tourists from other countries. China is number one in terms of inbound traffic from non-CIS countries. In addition to tourist groups, people traveled to Moscow alone and for business. Top countries for international visitors to the Russian capital are also Turkey, India and Iran. International tourism is developing, the number of tourists from some countries exceeds even pre-pandemic figures. For example, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar broke the record,” noted Sergei Sobyanin.
Moscow offers visitors a centuries-old history, rich museum collections, varied cuisine, a rich festival program and, what is especially important for tourists, a developed transport infrastructure.
“The Tourism and Hospitality Industry national project has taken the tourism industry to the next qualitative level. Our guests can use recreation services that fit every age and taste,” emphasized the Moscow Mayor.
The Russian capital welcomes especially many visitors during festivals. During these winter holidays, 4.3 million people-almost twice as many as last year-visited the city. Most hotels had no available rooms-on January 3, 4 and 5, the hotel occupancy rate in the city center was 90–100 per cent.
Both Moscow residents and tourists visited the venues of the Journey to Christmas and the Mansions of Moscow. Winter festivals. Over 337,000 people took part in the festivals held in mansions. They explored musical media experiments combining the traditions of noble balls with modern electronic music and laser shows.
Many people enjoyed the Moscow Tea Party: the festival attracted about 215,000 visitors. They drank 36,000 liters of tea and attended 400 events-from masterclasses to concerts and performances. The project also involves Moscow hotels and restaurants. Their visitors can try sets of jam, traditional pastries and tea every day from 4:00 p. m. to 7:00 p. m. Restaurants and hotels participating in the project offer bilberry, raspberry or black currant jams, as well as different types of classic Moscow pastries: kalach (a kind of fancy loaf), dinner rolls, bagels, crescent rolls or gingerbread and other treats.
The Moscow New Year’s Breakfast events were held in the Russian capital for the fourth time. 300 restaurants joined the project. They offered fresh pastries, potato pancakes, cottage-cheese pancakes and other dishes. The most popular drinks were hot chocolate, New Year’s tangerine raf coffee and spiced apple tea.
Moscow is developing the Russpass digital service to make tourists feel even more comfortable. Before the winter season, the Russpass special section collected the best ideas for winter recreation activities: festivals, ice skating rinks’ opening times and park posters. The calendar helped users navigate city events. More than 1.5 million people used the service during the winter holidays.
“The new tourist season is just around the corner. I’m sure we’ll be able to hold it at the same high level,” added Sergei Sobyanin.