UPDATE - Tourist Flow From China To Russia Grew By 150% In January-July - Chinese Travel Agency

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2018) The tourist flow from China to Russia increased by 150 percent in January-July compared to the corresponding period last year, Victor Tseng, the vice president of Ctrip, China's largest travel agency, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Over the past few years Russia has become a destination enjoying increasing popularity among the Chinese tourists. According to our information, in January-July of this year outbound tourism from China to Russia increased by 150 percent compared to the same period last year," Tseng said.

He said that about 40,000-50,000 Chinese tourists visited Russia during the FIFA World Cup alone, which exceeded the travel agency's expectations.

Tseng stressed that the great tourist flow reflected the good relations between the two countries and was the fruit of the Russian authorities' efforts to make tourism in Russia "more friendly" for the Chinese citizens.

According to Tseng, a simplified visa regime between the two countries was another reason for the increased number of tourist trips.

"We are very inspired by the Russian market in terms of outbound tourism from China. That is why we want to work to increase the number of Russian companies providing tourism services. We want to release information about their products and services on our platform so that Chinese tourists heading to Russia can easily find them and [make bookings]," Tseng said, adding that apart from the Chinese, the travel agency might also encourage foreign users of Ctrip platforms to visit Russia.

He added that Ctrip was willing to continue working with Russian authorities and travel agencies in order to increase Russia's awareness of the Chinese user base and the country's tourism services.

In 2017, 1.8 million Chinese citizens visited Russia, including 1.1 million visits for tourism purposes, according to the information, provided by the Russian Association of Tour Operators.