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Tourist flow from Qatar to Russia jumps nearly 80% in 2024 — ministry

This was facilitated by the current visa-free regime and direct flights

KAZAN, May 16. /TASS/. The number of Qatari nationals who came to Russia for tourist purposes in 2024 increased by 78% year-on-year, thanks in large part to the current visa-free regime and direct flights, Pavel Kalmychek, head of the Department of Bilateral Cooperation at the Economic Development Ministry said at the 16th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum 2025."

"Qatari tourists are showing more interest in coming to Russia - over the past year the number of trips from Qatar to Russia has increased by 78%. This was facilitated by the current visa-free regime and direct flights. In the summer season of 2025, Qatar Airways plans to operate seven flights a week on the Doha-Moscow-Doha route," he said as quoted by the ministry’s press service.

In 2024, the number of mutual tourist trips increased by 26% year-on-year to 120,000.

According to the head of the department, Russia pays great attention to creating comfortable conditions for the stay of foreign tourists who profess Islam. Some hotels in Moscow, Kazan and Sochi have already been certified as Halal and Muslim friendly venues, and more than 100 more tourist locales have submitted their applications to be added to this list.

The 16th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum" is underway from May 13 to 18 in Kazan. The main theme of the Forum in 2025 is ‘Digitalization: New Reality and Additional Opportunities for Expanding Cooperation’. Representatives of more than 100 countries have confirmed their participation in the forum. TASS is the general information partner of the event.

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