Moscow, Jan 12 (IANS): During the 2023 New Year holidays, there was a surge of Russian tourists flocking to China and Europe, a local media outlet said in a report on Friday.

Citing data from a study made by the Russian telecom giant Megafon, the RIA Novosti news agency report said: "During the past New Year holidays, 11 percent more Russians went abroad compared to last year's winter holidays. Along with the growth of trips to China and other Asian countries, the number of visitors to European countries increased by 8.5 per cent."

The number of people visiting China has increased 10 times, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

Hong Kong and Macao also witnessed a 22- and 35-fold increase, respectively.

The report also indicated that other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Singapore, Japan and Sri Lanka, registered significant growth in tourism, ranging from 62 per cent to 148 pe rcent.

According to the report, Russian tourists also visited the Middle East.

The number of visitors to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased by 17-20 per cent, respectively ,compared to the previous year.

Kuwait had a remarkable growth in tourism, with 51 times more Russians visiting the country during the New Year holidays than the year before.

The report showed an 8.5 per cent increase of tourist inflow into Europe this season.

Italy, Germany and France were the most popular destinations among the EU countries, up 47, 34 and 27 per cent, respectively.

Iceland reported the highest growth rate among European countries, attracting three times more Russian visitors.

In contrast, Finland witnessed a decline in tourist appeal, with the New Year influx dropping by 71 per cent.