Copyright tass
MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. Even before the ban, Russian tourists received almost no Schengen multiple-entry visas, the press service of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) reported. Earlier today, the European Commission announced a complete ban on issuing new multiple-entry visas to Russian citizens. "Currently, they issue multiple-entry visas to a small number of people traveling from Russia to Europe, and these are mostly business tourists," the statement read. Dmitry Arutyunov, co-head of the RUTI Outbound Tourism Committee and CEO of Art-Tour, explained that Greece has been issuing visas only for the duration of the trip for over two years. "Of course, there are specific cases, but they are very rare. In case with Italians, it is mostly the same. The French used to issue multiple-entry visas to tourists, but this is more of an exception than the rule. Now, multiple-entry visas are more often issued for business trips, but we don't encounter this situation very often," the expert said. The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) expert and CEO of VCP Travel, Mikhail Abasov, stressed that the new restriction is unlikely to reduce the already insignificant tourist flow to Europe. The union recalled that in 2024, Russians received almost 550,000 Schengen visas, 41% of which were multiple-entry. This share has decreased by 15% compared to 2023.
