Moscow has become the most popular European destination for Chinese tourists, suggests new research from CityMetric Intelligence.

 

Last year, some 376,000 Chinese holidaymakers travelled to the Russian capital — almost four times as many as to London, which attracted just a little more than 94,000 visitors from China.

 

Moscow also ranked fourth among the most popular long-haul destinations for Chinese visitors worldwide, according to the study. By far the most popular long-haul destination was New York, which topped the list with 646,000 visitors in 2013. Los Angeles ranked second with 570,000 visitors, followed by Sydney with 387,000 and Melbourne with 303,000, far behind the Russian capital.

 

Experts noted that those figures referred only to long-haul destinations and could hardly be compared with cities that are closer to home for Chinese travellers. Seoul topped the list of the most popular Asia-Pacific destinations with more than four million visitors from China. Bangkok was second with more than three million, followed by Singapore with more than two million.

 

Meanwhile, Russian tour operators polled by TASS noted an unprecedented slump in demand for New Year tours following the depreciation in the ruble. Russian holidaymakers tried to choose cheaper itineraries, they said, adding that tour operators would have to offer tours at substantially lower prices in 2015.