Foreign tourist flow to St. Petersburg decreased by around 10-15%. These results were shown by the statistics of hotel pre-bookings in St. Petersburg.

      The demand among St. Petersburg residents for outbound tourism segment fell mainly on European and American destinations. Now, St. Petersburg and other Russian citizens are interested in such relatively inexpensive and mass destinations like Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey even more than before. This coupled with the growth of the exchange rate affected the tour costs, which rose by an average of 3%.

      Reduction in number of customers in some travel agencies was caused by imposition of sanctions prohibiting law enforcement officials from traveling abroad. It can be added that development of tourism in St. Petersburg is prevented by several problems existing for years. Among the main are streets jammed with cars; the lack of public transportation stops in strategically important touristic spots; insufficient equipment of the touristic objects with disabled-oriented services; high cost of visiting attractions for foreigners etc. The city needs additional advertisement, including among compatriots. Many people know only basic information about St. Petersburg, but in the northern capital, besides Hermitage and other major museums, one can find many interesting places to visit.