Chinese tourists account for over 40% of foreign tourist arrivals in Russia - ATOR vice president

MOSCOW. June 13 (Interfax) - Chinese tourists account for over 40% of foreign tourist arrivals in Russia, attracted by both historical sights and sporting events, such as competitions of Russian figure skaters, Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR) Vice President, Intourist Tour Operator General Director Alexander Musikhin said on Wednesday.

"The foreign tourist profile has changed considerably over the past five years. China is our key market at the moment, as over 40% of tourists come to Russia from China," Musikhin said at a plenary session of the Travel forum, which opened at Moscow's VDNKh exhibition center on Wednesday. "We had only group tours before, but now Chinese tourists often travel with families, go on business trips, or travel individually. This means we need more information in Chinese. Guides used to translate everything but now we need to help Chinese tourists feel comfortable in our country," he said.

Chinese tourists are hungry for new impressions, Musikhin said.

"These are not just historical sights, but also various sorts of interactive events and master classes. I would like to draw your attention to event tourism. It also attracts foreign tourists, especially after the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Our figure skaters have an army of fans from China. They are ready to attend their demonstration performances and competitions. I believe we could use this as a promotion element," he said.

Tourists from China and other countries are interested in a broader geography of Russian tours, Musikhin said.

"Tourists have changed a lot lately. I mean foreign tourists were mostly interested in major cities, such as St. Petersburg and Moscow, in the past, but now their interests are much broader. We have absolutely fantastic requests, some of which have been granted. In particular, the Swiss travel to Dagestan, the Japanese travel to Sochi, and the Argentines travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is hard to tell whether that will become a trend, but such requests exist and it is important to promote not only the main centers, but all of the country," he said.

Almost 220,000 foreign tourists, including about 100,000 Chinese citizens, visited Russia in the first quarter of 2024, ATOR said earlier, citing the Russian Federal Security Service's Border Service. Before that, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told Interfax that he was expecting five million foreign tourist arrivals in Russia in 2024, or 30% more than last year.

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