According to the travel analytics specialist ForwardKeys, Russian visits to EU countries in the year to date have been down 97 per cent compared with 2019, and down 93 per cent compared with the United States.

But Russians still want to travel, and have increasingly set their sights on countries which offer easy access. Among these is Turkey, a country which, while always popular with Russians, has seen a significant increase in visitor numbers, with many resorts now even offering Cyrillic script menus. Abu Dhabi (which has the added appeal of serious bling) has seen a similar surge, while Thailand and Sri Lanka remain popular spots for Russians seeking a bit of tropical va-va-voom.

Less obviously, there has been an uptake in visitors to the island of Hainan, off the southern coast of China (a new best friend), as well as an increase in travel to the exotic island of Kish, off the coast of Iran (though this destination is now also likely to be off the table for the foreseeable future). Even North Korea – another Russia-friendly state – is reported to be building an extensive ski resort at Wonsan-Kalma, geared towards Russians missing those champagne-fuelled days in Courchevelski. 

For the Russian tourist, the world map now looks very different; here are some of its more unusual highlights.

Hainan Island, China