The number of Russian tourists traveling to European Union countries has fallen by more than tenfold compared with the pre-pandemic period.

“According to ATOR, the tourist flow to Europe is currently extremely small in absolute terms. Compared with pre-pandemic times, it has decreased by more than 10 times,” the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said, TASS reports.

The sharp decline comes amid continued restrictions and changes to visa policies affecting Russian travelers. European Commission President Markus Lammert recently said the European Commission would again propose, as part of its 22nd package of sanctions, measures to limit the number of visas issued to Russian citizens and ban entry for participants in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Similar proposals were rejected by EU member states in June during discussions on the 21st sanctions package.

ATOR stressed, however, that reports about possible new restrictions have appeared regularly in the media in recent months.

Without specific measures or officially adopted decisions, the association said it is too early to predict how the tourist flow to Europe will develop.

For now, Russian travel to the EU remains at a fraction of its pre-pandemic level, reflecting the significant changes in tourism and visa access between Russia and Europe.