Charter flight brings Russian tourists to Nha Trang after three years

By VNA, VnExpress March 17, 2025 | 03:15 pm PT

Russian tourists arrive at Cam Ranh International Airport, Khanh Hoa Province, on March 17, 2025. Photo by Toan Phat

A charter flight with 231 passengers on board from Russia arrived at Cam Ranh International Airport near Nha Trang beach city on Monday, marking its return following a three-year hiatus.

Due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, direct flights from Russia to Nha Trang were suspended in early 2022.

Khanh Hoa Province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with Anex Vietnam and relevant units, welcomed Flight ZF2577 of Azu Air LLC from Russia's Irkutsk international airport with a water salute and a traditional lion dance upon arrival at Cam Ranh airport.

Passengers onboard the charter flights also got souvenir gifts. The event follows the province’s tourism promotion efforts in Russia, including a conference in Moscow.

According to the department, Russian tourists typically stay for at least five nights, mainly at three- to five-star hotels, as part of all-inclusive tour packages that explore Nha Trang's renowned attractions.

Anex Vietnam, the company spearheading the return of Russian visitors, plans to operate charter flights from 11 Russian cities to Cam Ranh International Airport. These cities include Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Novokuznetsk, and Blagoveshchensk.

The company aims to run approximately 12 charter flights in March 2025, increasing to 50-55 flights per month from April to June, and further scaling up to 90-100 flights per month from July onwards.

Before Covid, Russians were Khanh Hoa's second-largest tourist group, with over 460,000 arrivals in 2019. The pandemic and geopolitical issues saw numbers drop to 14,000 in 2022 and 51,200 in 2023. In 2024, arrivals rebounded to 105,513, more than double the previous year but just 22.8% of 2019 levels.

Khanh Hoa aims to attract 11.8 million tourists, including 5.2 million international visitors, in 2025. The total tourism revenue is expected to reach VND60 trillion (US$2.35 billion).

International arrivals exceeded 1.3 million, up by 12.5%, while Russian arrivals in the first two months of the year reached 24,000, marking a 73.15% surge compared to the same period in 2024.