Distant wounds: tourists were most often injured in Turkey, Thailand and Egypt
The ranking of countries where Russians were most often injured in 2025 was led by Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, insurance companies told Izvestia. Most often, tourists sought help for diseases of the respiratory tract and hearing organs, due to domestic and sports injuries, as well as for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, doctors went to the doctors after insect bites, wild monkeys and stray cats. And some of the travelers had to be rescued from the attacks of seals, wasps and wild boars, others suffered from the spit of an elephant. About what accidents can happen during a vacation and where to turn for help — in the material of Izvestia.
What do travelers suffer from?
In 2025, Russian tourists were most often injured in Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, the AlfaStrakhovanie insurance company told Izvestia. Travelers sought help for diseases of the respiratory tract and hearing organs, due to domestic and sports injuries, and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
In 2025, Asian countries - Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka — became the leaders in the number of tourists from Russia who applied for medical care. The statistics were provided by Natalia Tylina, head of the department for the settlement of losses when traveling abroad and accidents at Absolut Insurance.
According to her, every sixth Russian turned to doctors in the UAE this year, and every tenth in Turkey and Bulgaria. Travelers were least likely to be injured in France, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
In 2025, as Natalia Tylina noted, the number of accidents involving Russians abroad increased by 15% compared to the same period in 2024. Tourists complained of high fever, heart disease, poisoning, bruises and sprains. And some needed help after being bitten by animals: monkeys, stray cats and dogs.
— There was a very unusual case when a married couple was injured — an elephant spat at them. His saliva got on the mucous membranes of his eyes, and a doctor's appointment was required. To prevent infection, eye washing was performed and rabies vaccinations were prescribed," Natalia Tylina said.
The most expensive animal-related case in 2025 cost more than $1,000, she added. A man vacationing in Thailand was severely scratched by a monkey — he had to get stitches and constantly go for bandages, as the humid climate makes wound healing more difficult.
In the United States, an insured woman was attacked by a seal while kayaking, said Roman Shcheglevatykh, vice president of the All-Russian Union of Insurers.
"There are expensive transportation of insured persons with complex logistics, for example, transportation of an insured person with fractures of both legs from Manchuria (China) to Tver in several stages involving ambulances and aviation," he said.
What kind of accidents happen to tourists
Thailand, Russia and Turkey were among the top countries where travelers sought medical care more often in 2025, said Olga Kuptsova, Deputy director of the Rosgosstrakh Personal Insurance Methodology and Underwriting Department. Mostly, tourists went to the doctors with limb fractures, acute respiratory viral infections and gastroenteritis.
— Cases are most often standard, but sometimes occur in unusual conditions. So, recently a child was injured on vacation in a Turkish hotel, a car carrying towels ran over his leg," she gave an example and added that on average, the insurance company receives 10-15 requests per day.
At the same time, Russians were most often injured while relaxing on unequipped beaches, said Artyom Iskra, managing director of Renaissance Insurance. We are talking about falls on slippery rocks, cuts on shells and wounds by sea urchins.
According to him, the increased risk of injury in Thailand is directly related to the popularity of motorcycle rental. Heavy traffic and ignorance of local traffic rules often lead to serious accidents. For example, in 2025, tourists needed complex medical care after a motorcycle accident. Severe cases include injuries sustained by tourists in the mountains of Dagestan — they needed to be evacuated by helicopter after a rockfall.
— Tourists often suffer from contact with wild animals. In 2024, we paid for treatment after several cases of monkey bites in Thailand, which is not due to the particular aggressiveness of the animals, but to the huge flow of tourists to this country," he explained.
Similar incidents have also occurred in Africa and Bali. And the largest payment exceeded $700 and included the services of a surgeon, medicines and a course of rabies vaccination, the expert concluded.
Since the beginning of 2025, more than 13 thousand Russians have applied for assistance under the travel insurance program, which is 11% more than in the same period last year, Sberbank Insurance said. The most common injuries are fractures and bruises, as well as animal and insect bites.
— One of the insured suffered from an attack by wild boars. Another case was related to an attack by a flock of wasps: a tourist accidentally stepped on their nest and received about ten bites, they noted.
Many accidents during foreign trips are related to alcohol consumption, said Artyom Prikazchikov, head of the medical examination department at Consent. So, in 2025, a tourist, being intoxicated, fell from a third-floor balcony.
"When a person consciously increases risks while intoxicated, such an incident cannot be recognized as an insured event," the expert explained.
However, many accidents, such as road accidents, do not depend on the will of tourists. In Turkey, a passenger on a Russian city bus was seriously injured in a collision with another tourist bus. A larger accident occurred in August 2025 in Egypt with a tour bus carrying 40 Russian tourists. One of the travelers died, Artyom reminded the Clerks.
One of the most high-profile insurance cases of recent times was the injury of one of their participants in the World Cycling Championships in Chile in October 2025, said Maria Prostova, product manager of the Department of personal insurance and insurance for those traveling abroad at RESO-Garantia.
— A Russian athlete fell and broke her collarbone. She was paid for hospitalization and surgery, which cost $ 23 thousand, as well as a business class return ticket via Istanbul to St. Petersburg worth 624 thousand rubles, the expert noted.
What to do if you get injured on vacation
Such illnesses and injuries are a classic "vacation kit," said experts from the financial marketplace "Compare."
—Digestive disorders are an inevitable consequence of a sudden change in diet, water quality, and unusual street cuisine, especially in Southeast Asian countries and Egypt, where food standards may differ greatly from Russian ones," the company explained. — Frequent colds, sore throats and otitis media are associated with extreme temperature changes. The sharp contrast between the sweltering heat outside and the operation of air conditioners in hotels, buses and shops, as well as active swimming, provokes hypothermia and inflammatory processes.
Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies, told Izvestia that tourists from Russia are most often injured in Abkhazia, Turkey, Egypt and Thailand.
— Travelers who buy travel packages from travel agencies are 100% insured for large amounts. But of those who purchase tours on their own, 80% are not insured at all. And when we hear that a tourist rode a bike in Thailand, broke his arm and now needs $500 for treatment, we are talking about an independent tourist. Travel agencies insure their clients for at least $30-40 thousand. depending on the country," the expert noted.
If an insured tourist is injured abroad, he should call the insurance company — they will help to call a doctor and make sure that the person receives qualified help, Aleksan Mkrtchyan reminded.
— As a rule, a person receives medical care within half an hour, unless, of course, he is in the desert or jungle, — the expert noted.
When traveling, a person finds himself in a new environment — the brain has to constantly adapt, which temporarily reduces attention and increases the likelihood of accidents, Maria Todorova, a family psychologist and neuropsychologist, told Izvestia.
— The climate, the rhythm of life, and the level of activity are changing. We find ourselves in circumstances where there are no fixed behavioral patterns that are formed in a familiar environment and usually protect us from mistakes," she explained.
In addition, people relax on vacation, relieve internal tension, and feel more free. That is why they sometimes underestimate the risks: they try new activities, sports, exotics and trust spontaneous solutions. This is a natural reaction to a change of environment, the psychologist concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
