Natalia Klimenok (Russian Travel Digest) and Irina Antonova (General Manager of Russian Tour) discussed the trade tendencies during ITB China 2024, Shanghai

Hotel Complex Izmailovo located in the west of Moscow was built for the XXII Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980. This includes 5 authentic buildings named "Alpha", "Beta", "Delta", "Gamma" and "Vega" symbolizing 5 Olympic rings. With 5,000 rooms, Izmailovo remains the 8th largest hotel in Europe. After the USSR collapse in 1991 the complex was spited in different legal entities.

The leading B2B exhibition dedicated to the Chinese tourism market, starts today at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Conference Center.

Interfax says the number of tourists arriving in Russia from East Asia and the Middle East has increased significantly since the beginning of 2024. Most of these tourists have arrived from China, according to data collected by the mobile operator, Megafon.

Russian travelers made 14 million trips in 2023 ( with the exception of post-Soviet countries).

The tourist flow to St. Petersburg by the end of 2023 could amount to 9,4 million people, of which 574 thousand are foreigners. Thus, the increase in the share of foreign tourists will be 68% compared to 2022. Among non-CIS countries in terms of the number of trips to St. Petersburg, the TOP-5 includes China, Iran, Turkey, India and the UAE.

The tour operator Tez Tour announced the start of sales of tours to the Chinese resort island of Hainan. The tour operator offers GDS tours with direct flights from Moscow to Sanya Airport on Aeroflot flights.

Anex-Tour announced the sale of tour packages to China from new departure cities and the expansion of the range of offers in this Asian destination. The tour includes an Aeroflot flight with a connection in Moscow, accommodation at a 3* hotel and a medical insurance.

Over the three quarters of 2023, the outbound flow from Russia amounted to 21 020 012 people, which is 12,4% higher compared to the same period in 2022.

Space Travel tour operator started selling tours to China within an extensive program, which includes both sightseeing tours to Beijing, Shanghai, Tibet and the ancient capitals of the country, as well as beach holidays in the resorts of Hainan Island.

Tours to the Chinese island of Hainan have appeared in the booking system of the tour operator China Travel. There are no direct flights from Russia to Hainan Island, so tourists will have to fly with a connection at Chinese airports.

From March 15, 2023, China will resume issuing all types of visas to foreigners at its consular offices around the world. However, it is still too early to talk about “the resumption of the tourist flow to China from Russia.

Sales of tours to China have already begun - despite the fact that there is still no official issuance of tourist visas. The sale of trips to China was restored by the tour operator Sunmar, locally, and the price of the tour is about twice as high as before the pandemic.

Russia resumed flights with Bali from March 14

The Chinese authorities temporarily suspend entry from Russia on visas and residence permits amid the pandemic.

Beijing is interested in restarting regular flights between China and Russia as soon as possible, and is ready to advance this process through teamwork with the Russian side.

The dates of resumption of flights at the moment depend on the decision of the Russian authorities. Russian air carriers will be able to perform one flight a week, choosing any one destination’s airport.

The prospects for the opening of borders for tourism in China in the near future have not been determined.

Air China passengers who intend to fly on a Moscow-Beijing flight will need to have a certificate confirming that they have not been infected with coronavirus from May 8.

The portal TourDom.ru found out the current situation in China from large Russian tour operators, and in particular at the popular tourist resort - Hainan Island.

Many of tourists sights in China are working again as usual, and carriers are already making plans for the coming months.

Aeroflot reduces the number of flights to China, South Korea, Vietnam and Italy in March due to lower demand from passengers, the company said.

According to the Border Service, in 2019, Russian citizens made 48 072 285 trips in 176 foreign countries and territories. This is 7,9% more than in 2018 (44 551 092).