The destinations that Russians picked to visit in Europe were closely linked to how they were going to get there, including here countries through which Russians could reach a certain destination in the Schengen Area.
This Is How Russians Entered Europe in 2024
The main destinations for Russian travellers to Europe in 2024 were Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Poland, all of which could be reached through land border crossings.
As FTN News reports, Estonia received most travellers from Russia – a total of 510,000, 70,000 of which reached the country by vehicle and another 440,000 by foot. The number of Russian travellers to Estonia in 2023 was 561,000 – considerably higher than in 2024.
In addition, around 209,000 Russians travelled to Poland in 2024, up from 158,500 land crossings recorded in 2023. The majority of these arrivals to Poland were by car. A similar approach was practised by Russians headed to Norway, with 16,000 Russians entering the country by car in 2024. The number of Russians in Norway was halved in 2024, as in 2023, around 24,000 entered the country.
Lithuania received 54,000 Russian travellers while Latvia around 32,000, up from 61,800 and 45,200 recorded in 2023, respectively.
Transit Hubs Were Crucial for Russian Travel to Europe in 2024
Due to the ongoing sanctions against Russia, Russians are not able to travel directly to Europe. In this case, many Russians have found indirect routes to get where they want and, Türkiye has become the primary hub for Russians transiting to Europe.
In addition to Türkiye, Russians have used other countries as connection points, including here the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Ethiopia, China, Serbia, Bahrain, and Morocco.
In total, 1.8 million Russian trips in 2024 were classified as “transit travel”, indicating that travellers passed through at least two other countries before reaching their final destination.
As the data reveals, the majority of these trips were not for entertainment and leisure purposes but more for business, medical treatment, education, and family reunion reasons.
