YEREVAN, July 18. /ARKA/. Armenia and Uzbekistan are the two most popular destinations for Russian citizens wishing to get bank cards issued by Visa, MasterCard and other foreign financial institutions.

The demand for the so-called ‘foreign bank card tours’ may increase in autumn, Tass news agency reported, citing the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"According to travel market experts interviewed, a certain surge of interest in traveling abroad for bank cards will happen in the autumn, when Russians, pining for sightseeing and skiing tours to Europe, will start planning such trips," according to ATOR.

According to Vedi Group, Russians want to get foreign bank cards not only for the comfort of traveling abroad, but also for online use in Russia- for hotel and air ticket reservations, purchases on foreign sites. The increase in demand for "card tours" abroad will be promoted by the opening of Russian land borders, ATOR explained. So far, on average tour operators receive from 100 to 200 such applications a week. -0-