Russian tourists are one of the fastest-growing groups of tourists, with a record 35.7 million going on overseas trips and spending a total of $43 million in 2012, according to the Russian International Travel Monitor, published by Hotels.com.

The Russians are the fifth-largest spenders in the world tourism market, with spending driven by travelers from the rising middle class.

The number of Russian tourists to Korea has also increased at a record rate of 7.7 percent, with 167,000 visitors in 2012. The report predicted that more Russians would visit Korea as Russian travelers are allowed to stay in Korea for 60 days without a visa on a visa waiver program recently signed between South Korea and Russia.

“The meteoric rise of Russia’s outbound travel market is providing a welcome boost to hoteliers worldwide, with Russians among the highest spenders on hotel rooms globally. The rising size and spending power of middle-class Russian travelers is a key driver behind this growth,” said Johan Svanstrom, president of the website Hotels.com.

(wylee@heraldcorp.com)