The tourism agency of Russia’s Primorye Entertainment Zone said the region welcomed around 3.1 million visitors in the nine months to 30 September, up 16% year-on-year and including almost 2 million arrivals in the third quarter alone.
While the number was primarily comprised of domestic travellers, there were 56,000 foreign arrivals as well – 10 times more than during the same period in 2022.
In announcing the visitation figures, Primorsky Krai said tourism was gradually recovering to pre-COVID levels with the region having welcome 4.5 million visitors in 2018 and 5 million in 2019. There were around 3 million visitor arrivals last year with 3.5 million being the target in 2023.
However, international arrivals are likely to remain subdued as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has seen sanctions imposed.
The Primorye Entertainment Zone is currently home to two casinos: Tigre de Cristal, opened in 2015, and Shambala, opened in 2020. A third casino development by Asia-Invest Group LLC was due to get underway in September, however another project by NagaWorld operator NagaCorp was suspended indefinitely in March 2022 on uncertainties related to the war in Ukraine.
