MOSCOW, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 million travelers visited Russia's Golden Ring route over the first five months of 2026, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov said Thursday.
The Golden Ring is a classic historical-cultural tourist circuit centered on Russia's capital Moscow. Originally, it comprised nine cities. In January, the Russian government decided to expand the Golden Ring to include 59 settlements across eight regions of the Central Federal District.
According to Vakhrukov, transport networks covering highways, railways, airports and other infrastructure allow visitors to travel quickly between sites of interest and take in key attractions within just a few days.
A unified promotion system for Golden Ring-branded products is designed to highlight the unique features of each region, folk crafts and individual manufacturers.
Pavel Smelov, director-general of the Center for Strategic Research, stressed that the Golden Ring brand helps integrate different regions, cities, tourist sites and goods into one user-friendly system for visitors.
"For regional authorities and businesses, this offers an opportunity to promote themselves not only independently but also to leverage the power of one of the country's most-recognised tourism brands," he said.
Vladimir, the capital of the Vladimir region, is one of the core cities of the Golden Ring.
Vladimir regional governor Alexander Avdeyev told Xinhua that the region will continue to improve its urban environment and upgrade tourism-related transport infrastructure. It will actively promote the unique appeal of Golden Ring cities through events such as tourism roadshows to attract more visitors.
Meanwhile, Sergey Romashkin, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, noted that demand for trips along the iconic tourist route will rise by 3-4 percent this summer compared with last year.
According to the association, the average duration of Golden Ring tours ranges from four to five days. The average price for a four-day package including accommodation, guided-tour services and two meals per day starts at roughly 29,000 rubles (around 360 U.S. dollars) per person, while a week-long tour costs around 35,000 rubles.
