Bringing People Together: Travel to Russia Despite War in Ukraine

Tom Joost, owner of travel agency Eurocult-Lito, thought it was time to put travel to Russia back on the agenda after a year of war in Ukraine. And not just for business reasons, he says himself: he hopes that we can make a start with the rapprochement. Between all parties involved.

‘Conversation starts with ordinary people’

“I want to put it first: I am firmly against this war,” says Joosten. “I’ve been organizing trips to Ukraine and Russia since 1991. I know people in both countries, and I think it’s terrible for all those people that it’s war.”

Despite all the restrictions and sentiments against Russia, he has been offering a trip to St. Petersburg since March. “I’ve had enough of hearing only war language. I’m under no illusion that I can change the world, but I think traveling to Saint Petersburg, and also to Lviv in Ukraine, might bring people together a little bit. Hopefully the conversation will start with ordinary people, and the big lords will take over.”

At another travel agency that specializes in Russia, Russia trips cannot be booked at all for the time being. “It is not smart to be associated with Russia now,” says the owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. “I think that’s detrimental to our business. We’re just pretending we don’t know Russia.”

Don’t talk about politics

It is difficult for him to estimate whether Russians who work in the tourism industry will be hit hard by the absence of Western tourists. His Russian contacts say little about it. “We have our friends there, and we know from each other that we have a different worldview, so we live by the principle: don’t talk about politics or religion.”

What he does know: global tourism to Russia has not come to a standstill: “Turks, Arabs, South Americans, South Africans, Chinese and Indians just keep going to Russia.”

Travel advice ‘orange’

It is completely different from the Netherlands and other EU countries. When Russia invaded the neighboring country in February last year, ‘European’ tourism to both countries virtually came to a standstill. At the moment, a ‘roodtravel advice for Ukraine (meaning: do not travel), because that country can be bombarded with Russian missiles at any time. The color for Russia, apart from the battlefield in the far west of the country, is Orange (necessary travel only).

Trans-Siberian Express: not bookable

The famous train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok – no less than 9289 kilometers across 7 time zones (a variant of the journey goes to Beijing) – is currently practically impossible to book due to the restrictions.

For example, the site of Treinreiswinkel.nl states: “In connection with the war in Ukraine, travel options to Russia are practically impossible. For the time being, train tickets and building blocks for the Trans-Siberian Express cannot be booked.”

We find a similar message on the Tiara Tours site: “Due to the situation in Ukraine, we are currently not carrying out trips to both Russia and Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a negative travel advice for Russia. Together with our colleagues, we hope to Ukraine and Russia that a solution will soon be found to end this horrific conflict.”

There are no direct flights to Russia from the European Union. Those who want to go to Russia have roughly two options. Fly to Istanbul in Turkey or Belgrade in Serbia, and then take a plane to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Tom Joost’s travel agency sends tourists via the other route still available: first fly to Helsinki (Finland) or Tallinn (Estonia), and from there by bus to Saint Petersburg or Moscow.

Business travel stopped

The travel agency BRIC Travel, formerly known as Russia Travel, also opts for this route via Helsinki or Tallinn. Although in this case it concerns ‘only a few travelers per month’, says employee Marc Lamers. “We mainly focus on business travelers. Because doing business with Russia is currently prohibited, that has come to a complete standstill. We still mediate for private travelers, but that only concerns a few per month.”

According to Lamers, these are almost always people who have family or friends living in Russia, and not ‘normal’ tourists.

Different type of tourist

The interest in the trip to Saint Petersburg is not running wild with Joost, but there are definitely people who come, he says. “Think of dozens, not hundreds. Normally our customers are mainly tourists who want to see the city. But of course we don’t see couples making romantic city trips now. The current interest is mainly from people who are interested in the conflict.”

‘dirty fascist’

The decision to put Russia back on the program has brought Joosten a lot of criticism, he says. “Especially on Twitter, of course. I posted a message with the text: Now do your own research in Russia and/or Ukraine. There are strong reactions to that. That I am a ‘dirty fascist’, for example. But I want that war ends. I also offer trips to Lviv in Ukraine. There the theater and the museum are open as usual.”

A practical obstacle is that transferring money to Russia is currently not possible. “We found something for that,” says Joosten, “but I can’t tell you what exactly.”

Visa easy to get

The Russian tourism sector would in any case welcome Dutch tourists with open arms, he says. “There are hotels that mainly attract Western tourists. These are difficult times for them. We normally also do a boat cruise from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Western tourists mainly go on that. That has come to a complete standstill, and those people obviously feel that.”

Marc Lamers of BRIC Travel also says that Russia does not put any obstacles in the way of tourists from Western countries. On the contrary: “The Russians still like to see us come. At the consulate, where we have to go if we need to apply for a visa for someone, they are happy to see us. Russians issue the visas without any problems.”