Russia and China renew agreement on visa-free group travel
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The Russian and Chinese authorities have restored the agreement on visa-free group tourist trips, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported. Beijing allowed to resume sending tourist groups to 20 countries, including Russia, from February 6. However, the decision about the Russian Federation was complicated due to the agreement suspended for the duration of the pandemic.
An agreement on visa-free group tourist trips was concluded in 2000 between the governments of the Russian Federation and the PRC. It allows tourists in groups of 5 to 50 people to visit Russia or China and stay there without a visa for 15 days.
The Ministry of Economy announced the renewal of the RBC document. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the information. The agency noted that Chinese citizens can enter Russia both on the basis of visas, “and in a visa-free manner” within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement. Russian authorities are now awaiting a list of companies from China that plan to send group tours to Russia as part of the agreement. The Ministry of Economy will send this list to the border service.
By data Association of Tour Operators of Russia, in 2022, 200.1 thousand foreign citizens visited Russia on a tourist visit, which is almost one and a half times less than in 2021. Before the pandemic, China held the record for the number of tourists coming to Russia. In 2019, Chinese citizens made 1.5 million tourist visits, but according to the results of 2022, the figure dropped to 842 trips due to coronavirus restrictions. Tourist flow resumes against the background of the lifting of these restrictions in China.
About whether it is worth waiting for the full return of Chinese tourists – in the column of Alexandra Mertsalova “Tourist flow in standby mode”.
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