MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The inbound tourist traffic surged by 2.3 times in Russia in the first half of 2023 and amounted to 187,800 persons, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said, citing data of the border service.

"As of the end of six months of 2023, 187,800 foreigners visited Russia with tourist purposes. This is more than 100,000 above the like period of the last year (81,500 tourists), that is, the incremental growth over the year totaled 130%," the Association said.

Nevertheless, the figure is still much lower than before the pandemic. About two million foreign tourists visited Russia during the like period of 2019, ATOR noted.

Tourists from China were the most frequent visitors of Russia during the first half of the year, with 32,300 trips. Turkey is second with 20,600 tourist visits.