Russia's Once-Cozy Neighbors Getting Tough on Travel Visas
Photo Credit: A view of Helsinki, Finland. Finland will limit the number of tourist visas it issues to Russian to 10 percent of the current volume. Unsplash / Alexandr Bormotin
Skift Take
Estonia, Latvia and Finland have gone two years without Russian tourists, and they can go on longer.
Estonia, Latvia and Finland are restricting the return of tourists from Russia — one of their historic top source markets — to exert pressure on the latter’s government to end its invasion of Ukraine.
The restrictions are accelerating each destination's pivot away from the Russian market, a trend that started during the pandemic.
As of this summer, Estonia denied entry to Russian citizens with Schengen tourist visas issued by local authorities. Latvia stopped issuing their own to Russian citizens. Finland will limit the number of tourist visas it issues to Russian to 10 percent of the current volume.
The ministers of these countries are now calling on other European countries to stop issuing visas to Russian tourists. The group has expanded to include two more of Russia's neighbors: Poland and Lithuania. European Union foreign ministers will discuss the idea at their meeting on August 29.
Tourism industry stakeholders in these countries know that banning one of their historic top source markets won’t help their recoveries, but they understand their necessity. “We are really supporting Ukraine at the moment and we really don’t care tha
