Rich Russians can't easily travel overseas after Putin's invasion, so they're going on cruises at home instead

• Russia's cruise industry enjoyed "serious growth" in 2022, a lawmaker told the news agency TASS.
• Many Russians went on cruises for the first time because they couldn't travel overseas.

Russian citizens might have found it much harder to travel abroad due to Western sanctions and restrictions in the wake of the Ukraine invasion — but that hasn't stopped some from going on vacation.

Cruise ships have enjoyed an influx of passengers, with cruise operators reporting an increase of between 30% and 40% last year, Alexey Volotskov, a Russian lawmaker, told the Kremlin-controlled news agency TASS.

Antonina Kiseleva of the cruise company Infoflot told Insider that demand for its cruises was "really high" last year, with ships consistently at 95% capacity.

Konstantin Puchkov of the online travel marketplace Cruise House told Insider that river cruises had been particularly popular. "There are already practically no places on some routes for the upcoming summer season," Puchkov said.

Before 2020, foreign tourists accounted for about 40% of passenger traffic, Forbes Russia reported. That figure has fallen to almost zero in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, per Kommersant, but domestic tourists appear to be plugging the gaps.

The added burdens of international travel mean that Russia's domestic cruises are now attracting wealthier customers — including those who've previously vacationed overseas.

Andrei Mikhailovsky, the director of Infoflot, told the newspaper Vedomosti that such customers have "higher requirements" for the level of accommodation and service — and are often only interested in the newest ships.

Cruises are also becoming more popular for the few travelers who are able to go overseas, Puchkov said. Sanctions often make it impossible for Russian citizens abroad to use credit cards issued by domestic banks, so some are opting for all-inclusive packages to eliminate some of the hassle.

Russian citizens' vacation options narrowed considerably after Vladimir Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.

Visiting European countries became far more difficult after the European Union banned all flights to and from Russia on February 27, while some of Russia's closest neighbors banned Russian tourists entirely in September.

Russian tourists can still technically enter Europe through third countries, such as Turkey, but that makes journeys more expensive and time-consuming.

Long-haul destinations such as Thailand remain popular among wealthy Russians, but are often too expensive for ordinary people.