First tourists from Russia’s Far East travel to China under visa-free agreement
VLADIVOSTOK, August 15. /TASS/. The first groups of tourists from the Primorsky Region in Russia’s Far East have traveled to China under a visa-free agreement, the press service of the regional government said.
"The first groups of tourists from the Primorsky Region have traveled to China visa-free. In total, 162 people will pass through the Krasnokamensk - Hunchun border crossing on Tuesday, August 15," the statement said.
Arseny Krepkiy, the head of the Primorsky Region’s Tourism Agency, mentioned in the statement that the region is also ready to welcome foreign visitors.
"After the lifting of the epidemiological restrictions, we have actively worked with all interested parties - both with the federal government and with the leaders of the Chinese provinces adjacent to the Primorsky Region. We have long had a high demand for tourism to China, and our neighbors also show great interest in visiting us. Therefore, the interest in restoring visa-free regime was mutual," according to Governor Oleg Kozhemyako quoted by the press service.
In 2018, 4.5 million people visited the region, and five million in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when tourism came to a halt worldwide, the region began to restore the flow of tourists: in 2022, over three million guests visited the region. This year, the Primorsky Region plans to receive over 3.5 million tourists. Almost 60% of the anticipated tourist flow will occur during the high season. From January to June of this year, the region has already hosted more than 1.1 million tourists - this is 13% more compared to the same period last year.
On February 6, China resumed tourist trips for organized groups of travelers, including to Russia, on a pilot basis. On February 20, the press service of the Economic Development Ministry reported Russia and China had resumed the agreement on visa-free group tourist trips after being suspended due to the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection. On August 10, the Economic Development Ministry announced that the first group of tourists from China arrived in Russia under the agreement on visa-free group tourist exchange, which was launched on August 1. The ceremonial meeting of the tourist group from Xi'an took place at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
Photo by Vladimir Gerdo/TASS
