Tourist Flow to St. Petersburg, Russia, Grew in 2022

According to Vice Governor V. Moskalenko, 8 million tourists came to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2022. He announced this fifure at the final annual press conference on December 29, 2022. According to statistics, this is a third more than a year earlier (6 million people in 2021). However, the tourism industry has not yet been able to catch up to pre-COVID levels in 2019, when the total number of visitors to the city was 10 million.

Saint Isaac Catherdral in St. Petersburg

The speaker noted that in the period before the pandemic, about half of the tourist flow consisted of tourists from foreign countries - up to 5 million people in total. In the current 2022, only 300 000 guests from abroad visited St. Petersburg. The official emphasized that a foreign tourist for the industry means a larger check and, accordingly, more income for the tourism industry.

According to the forecasts of the authorities, the flow of tourists will grow in 2023, but is unlikely to reach the figures of 2019 soon. The main growth is observed in the number of guests from regions of Russia, in addition, it is planned to increase the number of arrivals from the Middle East, India and China. One of the important issues is to give tourists the opportunity to use local means of payment, including the "MIR" bank cards.