Guests in the capitals: tourist tax earned at least in 73 regions of Russia

In 2026, a tourist tax was introduced in at least 73 of 89 Russian regions, Izvestia estimated. Last year, the fee was valid in 65 regions of the Russian Federation, but now at least eight more have joined the list — Mari El, Kursk, Moscow, Orenburg, Pskov, Samara, Smolensk and Tyumen regions. The fee is paid as a percentage of the cost of temporary accommodation — in 2026 it is 2%. Whether this helps to develop tourism in the Russian Federation and how much money the regions have managed to raise can be found in the Izvestia article.

Tourist tax in the regions in 2026

Cities and settlements in at least eight regions of Russia have introduced a tourist tax since January 1, 2026, Izvestia calculated based on regional responses and information on official websites. In 2025, this type of collection was launched in 65 regions, the press service of the Ministry of Energy told the editorial board. Thus, this year this list has expanded to 73 subjects. This happened at the expense of Mari El, Kursk, Moscow, Orenburg, Pskov, Samara, Smolensk and Tyumen regions.

Thus, the administration of the governor of the Samara region, in response to a request from Izvestia, noted that starting from the new year, the tourist tax will appear on the territories of eight urban districts, 10 urban settlements and 270 villages. Among them are Zhiguli, Samara and Tolyatti.

The introduction of a tour tax is also reported on the web pages of a number of regional municipalities.:

• Republic of Mari El — collection will start operating in Yoshkar-Ola;

• Kursk Region — tourist tax mechanism is being launched in Kursk;

• Moscow region — turnout tax is introduced in Balashikha, Kolomna, Lyubertsy and Podolsk;

• Orenburg region — the gathering will appear in the capital of the region, Orenburg;

• Pskov region — the tax is introduced in Pushkinogorsky, Porkhovsky, Nevelsky, Opochetsky and Pytalovsky municipal districts, as well as in Velikiye Luki;

• Smolensk region — tour tax established in Desnogorsk;

• Tyumen region — collection is being introduced in Tyumen.

At the same time, some regions have decided not to introduce a travel tax at all. This has already been reported in five regions — Crimea, Sevastopol, Yaroslavl and Kaluga regions, as well as the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The tax is not paid by the travelers themselves, but by organizations and individuals who provide them with temporary accommodation services (this is different from the resort fee, which is charged directly to tourists). The tour tax is calculated as a percentage of the price of a room in a hotel or other accommodation, but must be at least 100 rubles per day.

The municipal authorities set the tourist tax rate independently, but within the federal limit: in 2025, the maximum rate was 1%, in 2026 - 2%, and by 2029 the maximum level will rise to 5%.

Support group: tax changes won't cause problems for businesses

What did the president say about the VAT change and how to make the Russian economy strong?

The first results of the tour tax in 2025

The tourist tax is not targeted, the income received from it is used to finance expenses and tasks that are determined by local governments, the press service of the Ministry of Finance clarified to Izvestia. They reported: according to operational data, as of December 1, 2025, revenue from the collection reached 5.6 billion rubles. The editorial board also sent a request to the Federal Tax Service.

Representatives of the authorities of some Russian regions reported the following receipts from the tourist tax:

• St. Petersburg — almost 900 million rubles;

• Altai Territory — almost 180 million;

• Krasnoyarsk Territory — about 6.5 million rubles have been collected by November 1.;

• Yakutia — by September 1, municipalities received 13.8 million;

• Chuvashia — managed to collect 6.5 million;

• Kirov region — budgets were replenished by almost 8.8 million in three quarters.;

• Tula Region — receipts reached 19 million in three quarters;

• Ulyanovsk region — 15.5 million rubles were collected in January – September.

The regions with a stable domestic tourist flow received the greatest financial effect from the introduction of the mechanism. First of all, these are the traditional industry leaders — the Krasnodar, Stavropol, Altai and Krasnoyarsk Territories, as well as St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, said Kirill Yakovlev, Program Director of the Presidential Academy, an expert on international tourism.

How does the tourism tax affect the development of regions

Local authorities mainly allocate funds for the improvement of tourist areas, explained Vadim Zhukov, Associate Professor of the Department of Management in International Business and the Tourism Industry at the State University of Management (GUU). The money received from the collection is invested in the development of the cultural environment, the creation of parks, the restoration of buildings, the repair of roads, the arrangement of hiking trails, beaches.

The greatest effect of the tourist tax is observed in regions where the tourist infrastructure is severely worn out and where additional budget funds are needed for its renovation and development, says Vadim Zasko, Dean of the Faculty of Taxes, Audit and Business Analysis at the Financial University. The collection is also actively working where the flow of tourists is constantly growing.

For example, trips to Altai and the Altai Territory with their mountain landscapes and resorts are in high demand, to the Krasnoyarsk Territory for natural attractions such as the Stolby Nature Reserve, Ergaki Park and Tunguska Nature Reserve, and to the Tula Region for the Yasnaya Polyana Museum Estate and the Suvorov Quarries. The support of these tourist destinations requires additional funds — the proceeds from the tourist tax become a contribution to the long-term preservation and development of these places.

To ensure that the costs of maintaining urban infrastructure are distributed fairly, part of the financial burden is shifted to tourists, since they enjoy public benefits on an equal basis with local residents, Vadim Zasko explained.

At the same time, the tourist flow inside Russia has not decreased after the introduction of the fee, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global. In January – October, it grew by almost 5%. Therefore, such an innovation has already sufficiently justified itself on a national scale, she added.

At the same time, the mechanism is becoming more widespread in the world. A similar type of taxation is applied in a number of European Union countries, as well as in Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, Natalia Milchakova noted. A resort fee has been introduced in Turkey, which is also in demand among Russian travelers. According to her, taxes and fees from tourists effectively contribute to increasing local budgets.

However, the tourist tax cannot be considered a universal way to replenish the budget for all municipalities, Vadim Zasko noted. If the region is not attractive enough for tourists, its introduction may not be beneficial or even harmful, increasing costs for businesses and guests themselves instead of developing tourism.

Collect over: the budget received almost 3 trillion after the increase in income tax to 25%

What other items have increased receipts this year?

Taxes on the tourism business

The tax burden on the hotel business increased in 2025, and by 2029, when the tourist tax rate will gradually increase to 5%, it will become even greater, Natalia Milchakova emphasized. This is a disadvantage for the industry, as well as for its customers, the expert explained.

In 2026, the rate is 2%. The Russian Union of Travel Industry has already proposed to fix it at this level and not raise it further, for fear of reducing the profitability of hotels, Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets, recalled. For the budget segment — hostels and mini-hotels — a fixed minimum of 100 rubles per day turns into an actual 8-10% of the cost. This affects students, school groups, and shift workers who prefer this type of accommodation due to its low cost.

Nevertheless, prices for hotel services would have increased in line with inflation even without the introduction of such a tax, Natalia Milchakova believes. But in this case, the business would simply shift the costs onto the shoulders of tourists. In this case, travelers did not receive anything "in exchange" except for the services of hoteliers, she said.

In other words, the purpose of the tourist tax is not for the state to collect more income from businesses, but to properly redistribute funds for infrastructure development. According to Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the VMT Consult agency, in this case, the effect of the collection may not be constraining, but, on the contrary, supportive by increasing the attractiveness of the regions and increasing the tourist flow.