MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Middle Eastern countries account for around one quarter of the tourist flow to Moscow from non-CIS countries, head of department on cooperation with foreign public authorities at Moscow’s tourism committee Natalya Molochnikova told TASS.

"Middle Eastern states, including Gulf countries, Turkey, account for around one quarter of the foreign tourist flow from non-CIS countries to Moscow as of the end of 2023," she said.

The interest of tourists from the Middle East in Russia seriously increased over the past several years, Molochnikova added. "The dynamics on almost all countries is higher than last year, and in many countries, it is even higher than before the pandemic," she said.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said earlier that around 24.5 mln guests visited Moscow last year, while tourist consumption reached 1.3 trillion rubles ($14.2 bln).