The demand for travel visas to Morocco from Russian citizens saw a significant increase last year, rising by nearly 81%, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing data from travel agency representatives in the European country.
The same source highlighted that requests for tourist and business visas, especially to certain Asian countries, saw a notable surge in 2024, far exceeding the demand for Schengen area entry visas.
Yulia Lipatova, Executive Director of Aeroclub, explained that “the demand for Chinese visas from Russian tourists exceeded the demand for Schengen visas by more than three times,” noting that requests for Japanese visas also grew significantly, increasing by about 2.7 times in 2024 compared to 2023.
According to Lipatova, the demand for Chinese visas from Russians was 3.5 times higher than that for Schengen visas, with the number of applications for Chinese visas nearly doubling compared to the previous year.
She also pointed out the notable growth in requests for Japanese visas, which rose by 2.7 times compared to 2023.
The Russian travel expert confirmed that the demand for visas is directly linked to geopolitical and economic changes, as well as the availability of transport links between Russia and the countries in question.
According to data reported by Kommersant, China accounted for approximately 60% of all Russian visa requests, followed by Japan and India, which made up 10.4% and 6.4% of the total requests, respectively.
The same data also indicated that the number of outbound trips by Russians increased by 13% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
This growth was particularly notable in destinations such as Vietnam, with a 2.8-fold increase, Mauritius (2.2 times), China (2.1 times), and Morocco and Japan, which saw Russian visits rise by 81% and 80%, respectively.
Experts from the Russian Union of Travel Industry and Tourism had previously confirmed that Morocco has started to emerge as a popular destination for Russian tourists.
Moroccan tourism experts, speaking to Hespress earlier, attributed this trend to the country’s political stability, its rich tourism offerings, and its favorable weather conditions, which make it particularly appealing to Russian travelers.
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