Taking into account the multiplier effect, the Russian travel sector now comprises 6.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The net share of the travel sector now stands at 3 percent.

The number of tourists in Russia in 2010 was 32 million, only 1 percent over the figure for 2009, according to Nadezhda Nazina, Deputy Minister of Sport, Tourism, and Youth Policy.

The cost charged by hotel and travel companies in Russia were USD 7.2 billion in 2010, 3.1 percent above the figures for 2009.

Deputy Minister Nazina believes that the full potential of the country’s tourism sector has not been realized. There are 4 500 tour companies and

10 000 travel bureaus registered in Russia. The coast of the Black Sea attracted 4 500 million people in tourist traffic in 2010, a figure 12 percent higher than the result for 2009.  

Russian resorts are in competition with those in Ukraine, Croatia, Montenegro, Turkey, and Egypt. The chief factor responsible for the low performance indicators of the Russian tourism sector is the level of hospitality services and the quality-to-price relationship.