Russia recommends Vietnam among safe tourist destinations

The recommendations announced by the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia on March 2 came as the U.S. and many European countries closed their airspaces to Russian flights and imposed sanctions on Moscow following the war in Ukraine.

Russian authorities have advised their citizens not to travel to countries that have imposed sanctions and restrictions on it since they could be barred from returning home in a timely and safe manner.

The Russian tourism agency believed that some destinations, including several Latin American countries, will no longer be available to Russian tourists due to airspace restrictions.

From March 15, Vietnam will fully reopen inbound tourism, with foreign tourists allowed to visit the country without booking tour packages.

In 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid pandemic, Vietnam received a record 646,000 tourists from Russia, making it the sixth largest tourism source market after mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S.