The Middle East and Turkey, which have not banned flights to and from Russia, benefited from increased air traffic to and through them, attracting Russian tourists in 2022, according to ForwardKeys data.

The destination that was most successful in attracting affluent Russians was Thailand, where luxury travel increased by 81% compared to 2019. This was followed by the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the Maldives and Egypt.

As it reports, in the year following the war, seat capacity between Russia and the Middle East was 27% higher than it was in the corresponding period before the pandemic, and in Turkey 26%.

In comparison, it was 99% less for the EU and UK, 92% for North America, 87% for Asia Pacific, 76% for Africa and the rest of the Americas and 20% for the rest of Europe.

Perhaps the most surprising trend to emerge during the first ten months of the war, noted the analysis by flight data firm ForwardKeys, was that wealthy Russians returned to international travel with great gusto after the pandemic, while ordinary Russians stayed home.

From the start of the war on February 24 to the end of December, premium class tickets for Russian outbound travel boomed, up 10% compared to before the pandemic. In contrast, economy class travel fell by 70%.

However, from the beginning of 2023, the situation changed, with international travel collapsing in the first quarter of the year. As of February 15, premium class bookings for the first quarter are currently 26% behind 2019 levels and economy class bookings are 66% behind.