Citizens of Russia are increasingly choosing CIS countries for tourist trips, RIA reports with reference to the Russian Union of Travel Industry.

According to the organization, Belarus has become the most popular destination for most tour operators. Also, the top five in terms of sales included Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.

The information is confirmed directly by representatives of the tourist industry. Thus, the director of public relations of the Intourist company, Daria Domostroyeva, noted that Belarus became a leader due to short city tours and partly replaced European countries in this regard.

Tours to Uzbekistan among the clients of Intourist took the second place, to Kazakhstan - the third. The growth of the popularity of the latter was facilitated by the presence in Aktau of a 5-star hotel near the Caspian Sea.

The sales director of another tour operator, Roman Rudenko from Turtrans-Voyage, said that Georgia took the first place among the countries of the ex-USSR. It is followed by Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In the Alean company, the top three were Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan - buyers of tours to these countries were primarily interested in sanatoriums and resorts. There was also a high demand for sightseeing trips to Armenia.

The data of the Border Service of the FSB also testify to the growing popularity of the CIS among Russian tourists. Of the countries for which statistics are kept, Armenia became the leader - 209.9 thousand Russians went there in the first half of the year, or twice as many as last year.

A similar growth was shown by the number of people leaving for Uzbekistan - 87 thousand people. The flow of tourists to Kazakhstan almost tripled (72 thousand), to Azerbaijan - four times (68.9 thousand).

According to Uzbek statistics, 345,000 people visited the republic in six months. Operators also record high demand for Uzbekistan in the "velvet" season.