Over the last few years the number of Chinese tourists heading to Russia, both individual travelers and those visiting as part of tourist groups, has significantly increased, providing a considerable boost to the Russian economy.

 

During a Russia-China forum for small and medium business held in Sochi on May 30-31, the World Without Borders travel association hosted a meeting on bilateral cooperation in tourism between the two countries.

 

Up until now, Chinese tourists mostly visit Moscow and St. Petersburg, but now it seems that other regions and cities in Russia are more than willing to compete for the attention of visitors from China who are apparently considered a very welcome sight. 

 

For example, the Krasnodar Region now has five high-class travel agencies catering to the Chinese clientele, and offers numerous tourist programs, such as "Olympic Sochi" and "Russia's South."

 

The representative of Volgograd also said during the meeting that the city has a rich history and perhaps many Chinese tourists would like, for example, to witness the Mamayev Kurgan memorial with their own eyes and to explore the site of one of the deadliest and pivotal battles of World War II.

 

The Chinese reporters covering the event were very impressed by how the presentations were conducted, especially by the fact that all of the promotional materials were available in Chinese.

 

Head of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency Oleg Safonov also said that the government has launched a program to train more Chinese-speaking tour guides, and to ensure that major restaurants and hotels offer menus and other information in Chinese. Also, Russia may consider easing the existing visa regime for Chinese tourists so that tour groups of as few as three people won’t require a visa to enter the country, he added.

 

All in all, the forum results were very positive, at least as far as the tourism industry is concerned, and Russia’s regions should expect a lot more Chinese tourists in the coming years.