Few Russians travelling to Myanmar, despite visa exemption

Despite visa-free entry and direct flights between the two countries, Myanmar is receiving only a trickle of visitors from Russia, according to official data. Isolated by the international community since seizing power nearly five years ago, Myanmar’s military regime has been working to boost military and civilian ties with its key ally Russia and draw more Russian tourists by offering visa-free entry. Since July 2022, Russian citizens have been allowed to stay in the country for up to 30 days without a visa. In September 2023, Myanmar Airways International (MAI) began direct flights between Yangon and Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city and the capital of the Siberian Federal District. Despite these measures, only 3,893 Russian tourists visited Myanmar in 2024, according to the junta-controlled Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s data on foreign arrivals. In 2024, Myanmar received 281,833 foreign travellers, with about half coming from China and Thailand. Russians accounted for just over one percent of the total for the year, official figures showed. Naung Naung Han, chair of the Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association, told Myanmar Now that the few thousand Russian tourists that arrived in 2024 was about the same as in previous years. “Direct MAI flights to Novosibirsk, the capital of the Siberian Federal District, bring some Siberian tourists, but few visitors come from Moscow or St. Petersburg because those flights require a connection,” he said. In July of last year, Naung Naung Han led a team to a tourism fair in Novosibirsk to attract Russian visitors to Myanmar. As the Myanmar regime’s political and economic ties with Russia strengthen, some Russian citizens have been visiting Myanmar for business, though their exact numbers are unknown, he said. He added that the US visa ban and strict EU entry rules may prompt Myanmar nationals who can travel abroad to choose Russia instead. Russia announced this week that, starting January 27, Myanmar citizens will be allowed visa-free entry for 30 days in response to Myanmar’s visa-free policy for Russian travellers. Under the junta, Myanmar mainly interacts with China, Russia, and Belarus, so most travellers from these countries visit for political or business reasons, with few coming for tourism, a veteran travel agent said on condition of anonymity. The Sule Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Yangon, closed since the coup, in September 2021 (Photo: Myanmar Now). “MAI’s direct flights are usually full inbound to Myanmar, but have few passengers travelling onward to Russia. Most travellers come for business, military, or political reasons,” he said. “Many are young or middle-aged adults who don’t dare to stay in Russia because they are seeking to avoid conscription. It’s not that there are no tourists, but they are few,” he added. Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has forced it to conscript young people to fight on the frontlines, leading many to flee the country to avoid military service. There have also been reports of foreigners, mostly from developing countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, being lured to Russia with promises of high pay, only to be forced to join the conflict. Despite the junta’s efforts to promote Myanmar’s tourism, ongoing clashes and closed destinations like Ngapali Beach have meant that Russian tourist arrivals have improved only slightly, the agent said. He added that most Myanmar travellers to Russia go for education or social purposes. Although Russia now allows Myanmar citizens visa-free entry, and flight and tour information has been released, no one has made inquiries so far, an officer at a local travel agency told Myanmar Now. “I don’t expect many people to go, since most travellers prefer destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan,” she said. Despite strong ties between the junta and the Russian government, most ordinary Russians prefer visiting other Southeast Asian countries, such as neighbouring Thailand and Indonesia. The Bangkok Post reported in early 2025 that Thailand received more than 1.7 million Russian visitors in 2024, citing data from the country’s Ministry of Tourism. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, strict EU visa rules have driven many Russians to Southeast Asia. The junta hopes to attract up to 200,000 Russian tourists to Myanmar annually. Russia and Myanmar, both facing Western sanctions including from the US, have been working to boost economic cooperation, agreeing to develop the Dawei Special Economic Zone in Tanintharyi Region, a nuclear power plant, and other projects. Senior General Min Aung Hla, the coup leader, has visited Russia multiple times.

Few Russians travelling to Myanmar, despite visa exemption

A little more than one percent of foreign visitors to Myanmar are from Russia, even as the two countries work to cement political and economic ties

Subscribe for full access

The shadowy past—and present—of the Myanmar Times and Frontier

On the road to Namtu

‘Can We Go Home?’: Civilians trapped in Bhamo fighting

Beyond Beijing’s reach, a new resistance alliance takes shape in Myanmar

Myanmar military struggling to secure Mogok’s surroundings

10,000 flee as Myanmar junta forces torch villages in Natogyi Township

Five killed in junta airstrike on civilians’ shops in Magway Region

Heavy fighting reported in Hpapun as resistance forces move to take last junta base

Six killed in junta airstrike on Thantlang as bombing intensifies in Chin State

KIA set to fully resume rare earth mining in captured ‘special region’

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill three civilians sheltering in Rakhine State monastery

Myanmar’s factories cling to life as power shortages persist

Bought Out or Seized: Mandalay farmers face impossible choices amid land grab

Myanmar junta partners with Chinese firm to build natural gas terminal despite Rakhine State conflict

Thai officials call on Myanmar regime to crack down on fraud, trafficking gangs on Thai-Karen State border

Myanmar military continues to lose ground to anti-junta forces in northern Shan State

Despite escalating violence, Myanmar junta leader says elections will proceed

NUG-founded bank set to sell shares to meet ‘emergency needs’

Myanmar’s junta bears ‘sole responsibility’ for Suu Kyi’s health—NLD

Karenni youth fight for freedom at the cost of their lives and limbs

The mothers of the Magway resistance

A Myanmar artist finds freedom behind bars—by portraying prisoners’ oppression

As Myanmar’s revolution beckons, a new breed of activist photographers heeds the call

The man behind the Myanmar junta’s campaign of terror in Sagaing

Authorities tighten restrictions on passport process for Myanmar nationals in Thailand

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles