The tourism industry’s revenue has increased nearly 3.6-fold over the past 10 years - from $384 million in 2015 to $1.374 billion in 2025 - Veaceslav Ionita
According to an economic policy expert at IDIS Viitorul, in 2025, approximately 79% (nearly $1.1 billion) of the industry’s revenue came from Moldovan residents’ spending during trips abroad; 14% ($153 million) was spent by foreign tourists in Moldova, and 7% ($97 million) came from Moldovan citizens’ spending on domestic tourism. According to Veaceslav Ionita, the country’s tourism potential is currently being utilized by only a few percent. At the same time, the increase in the number of Moldovan tourists traveling abroad indicates an improvement in the population’s standard of living. The expert emphasized that it is important for the economy to achieve comparable growth in inbound tourism so that more of foreign travelers’ spending remains in the country. At the same time, Veaceslav Ionita noted a narrowing of the gap between inbound and outbound tourism. For example, while in 2019 there were 16 Moldovan residents traveling abroad for leisure for every foreign tourist, by 2025 this ratio had improved to 1:4. In the first quarter of 2026, a record number of foreigners—300,300 people—entered Moldova. This broke the 1992 record, when 292,200 foreign tourists visited Moldova. The analysis also shows that the tourism sector has changed significantly over the past two decades. While 67,200 foreign tourists visited the country in 2005, that number had risen to 174,000 by 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic virtually halted the flow of tourists—in 2020, only 28,700 people arrived in Moldova. However, since the end of 2022, the industry has shown a steady recovery. Independent travel is growing the fastest: while in 2005, out of 67,200 foreign visitors, 25,100 arrived through travel agencies and 42,200 traveled independently; by the end of the first quarter of 2026, out of 300,300 tourists, 90,300 used the services of tour operators, and 210,000 traveled independently. Thus, about 70% of foreign tourists visit the country without intermediaries, while approximately 30% use the services of travel agencies. At the same time, domestic tourism has also grown over the years. While in 2000, just over 19,000 Moldovan residents took organized domestic tours, by 2025 that number had risen to 111,800. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, this figure had reached 117,000 people. In total, according to Veaceslav Ionita, Moldovan travel agencies served 604,100 customers in 2025, whereas in 2000 there were only 78,200. // 10.07.2026 – InfoMarket.
