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One of the key news for the tourism market in February was the return of China to the number of tourist destinations. International tourism in the country has been restricted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the Russians, the restart of the direction is still conditional. Due to visa difficulties and limited flights, only a few get into the country. But the situation may change: both sightseeing tours to mainland China and budget beach holidays on the island of Hainan will return to the market.

From February 6, China will revive international tourism: for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, residents of the country have officially received the opportunity to go on vacation abroad. Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin notes that the opening of China for Russian travelers is still rather conditional: a decision on group visa-free trips, which were actively organized before the pandemic, has not yet been made. The issuance of classic tourist visas, he said, has not yet been resumed. The solution of this issue is expected in the 20th of February. So far, compatriots can only apply for business and other types of visas for travel. The website of the Chinese Embassy has information only about study and business visas.

Another problem is air traffic. According to Mr. Gorin’s estimates, only 10% of the pre-crisis number of flights are carried out. The price of flights remains quite high. On the official website of Aeroflot, the price of a direct flight from Moscow to Beijing and back on March 5-11 was 58.3 thousand rubles. A ticket for a flight with a connection to Chengdu from Sichuan Airlines for the same dates could be purchased for 48.7 thousand rubles. through ticket agents. A direct flight from Moscow to Shanghai and back on March 4-10 at Aeroflot cost 61 thousand rubles. For about the same amount, you could buy a ticket for Air China flights with a connection in Beijing. Dmitry Gorin assumes that the expansion of the flight program to China will begin after the full resumption of the issuance of visas – with the advent of the tourist flow, the implementation of such flights will again become of interest to carriers. The expert does not exclude that this will also contribute to lower prices.

Offers of tour operators in the same direction are also limited. According to Intourist representative Daria Domostroeva, her company is working on organizing beach tours to Hainan and excursion programs in mainland China. The programs will include visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and so on. “Their price can be calculated only after the issue of group visa-free trips and the expansion of flight programs is resolved,” a representative of the travel company explains. Ms. Domostroyeva adds that Chinese tourists, in turn, have preliminary applications for tours in Russia. Such guests can now receive classic tourist visas to the country, but their mass arrivals usually do not begin until April.

Before the pandemic, the Golden Ring of China route, designed for 12–14 days, was popular with tour operators. This trip included visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Yangshuo, Suzhou, Hangzhou. The minimum price for such a trip in 2019 was about $3,000. But given inflation and the increased cost of transportation, now this figure is likely to be noticeably higher. Hainan, on the contrary, was often considered by travelers as a budget beach holiday destination before the pandemic. At the beginning of 2020, the average price of a ticket per person was estimated at 43.5 thousand rubles.

Alexandra Mertsalova