The number of Chinese tourists visiting Russia increased by 40% in January-September

“More than 670 thousand "visa-free" tourists from China visited Russia from January to September 2016, it is 40% more than in the same period of 2015, and 18% more than for whole last year”, - reported the Tourist Association "The World without borders". Irkutsk region demonstrates an explosive dynamics growth. The region was visited by almost 40 thousand tourists within the Visa exchange programmer, id est - 166% more than in January-September 2015. Baikal - UNESCO World Heritage Site - is a successful Russian tourist brand for China visitors. It is important for them to see by own eyes as much as possible of these world-class attraction. In addition, for Chinese tourists the Baikal tours are attractive by convenient logistics, short flight time - three hours in air from Beijing to Irkutsk - and the lack of significant difference in time. "This year, the tours to Moscow and St. Petersburg are the most popular for almost 320 thousand Chinese "visa-free" tourists. More than 286 000 tourists (48% more than in January-September 2015) have visited the Primorskiy, Khabarovskiy and Zabaikalskiy kray, the Amur and the Jewish autonomous regions", - said to the portal "Interfax-Tourism” the executive director of Tourist Association Svetlana Pyatikhatki.