The Russian outbound market

Outbound travel from Russia has grown significantly in recent years in line with increased personal affluence and it is now ranked as the world’s 9^th largest market in terms of expenditure on international travel.  Russia is a major market for luxury tourism products and services but there is also a growing middle class who are travelling abroad.  

Travel preferences

Wealthy Russians spend well on travel but are demanding travellers, expecting a high level of service and quality.  They expect Russian language provision and desire unique and individual experiences.  

The travel trade plays an important role in planning and booking holidays, while personal recommendations are a valued source of information.

Perceptions of Scotland

Scotland has benefited in particular from the Russian luxury travel market. Russians tend to have traditional perceptions of Scotland, focussing on our unique heritage – castles, tartan, whisky etc – and have a warm view of the Scottish people.  Golf is an increasingly popular pastime for the Russian elite.  At present there is no direct flight link between Russia and Scotland but there are several one-stop links via major European hubs.

Marketing activities

As well as its own activities, VisitScotland works closely with VisitBritain to develop the Russian market.  As the travel trade plays such an important role, VisitScotland has a programme of activities to engage with the most important companies.  These include regular e-newsletters, participation in events such as MITT and ILTM, fam trips for tour operators around Expo and throughout the year, trade missions and the production with VisitBritain of an Agent Sales Guide.  

Activities targeting Russian travellers include a Russian language brochure, a joint press campaign with VisitBritain and VisitLondon, consumer promotions and the hosting of Russian journalists and TV crews.

To find out about our marketing activities in Russia and how you can become involved, please visit our Marketing Opportunities section.

Useful links:

Profiles of the Russian market are also available from VisitBritain and the European Travel Commission.

Another useful source of information on the Russian market is TMI, a Russian marketing consultancy which produces a newsletter focussing on Russian travel trends: