Tourist flow in standby mode – Newspaper Kommersant No. 30 (7475) dated February 17, 2023

The last two months, which have passed under the sign of lifting restrictions on international travel for Chinese citizens, have become a period of unprecedented optimism for participants in the inbound tourism market. Since the beginning of January, business representatives have generated countless newsbreaks, talking about pre-bookings and the prospects of a massive Chinese arrival.

The latest was a message about the impending arrival in Russia on February 23 of the first organized group of Chinese tourists from Guangzhou since the start of the pandemic. In total, according to the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), we are talking about 34 guests. This news instantly spread through the agencies. The prevailing enthusiasm is easy to explain. Nevertheless, the inbound tourist flow to Russia over the past three years has been rather symbolic, and more than a million tourists came from China every year before the pandemic.

But it’s still not worth waiting for a full-scale return of Chinese guests at least this year. The most obvious deterrent is the solution to the issue of visa-free group tours, which were carried out between countries from 2000 until the start of the pandemic. But now the launch of the visa-free exchange system is constantly being postponed. Participants in the tourism market tend to consider the problem a technical one, linking it to a change in the regulator: at the end of last year, Rostourism was disbanded and the industry returned to the Ministry of Economy. Although the problem may be on the Chinese side. After a month of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the focus in the country has shifted to the upcoming change of government. At this pace, the issue of group tourist exchange can be resolved only by the summer. In the meantime, guests have to apply for Russian tourist visas: the cost of them, according to the PCT, is $150 per person.

And in itself, the restoration of tourism is not a quick matter, as we managed to make sure during the introduction and lifting of pandemic restrictions. According to the FSB border service, eight times fewer people entered Russia from Serbia for tourist purposes in 2022 than in pre-crisis 2019, 2.3 times less from Turkey, and 3.6 times less from Kazakhstan. And all this in the presence of direct flights. From the idea to spend a vacation in Russia, potential tourists could well be averted by the negative information background and the difficulties with working in the country with foreign bank cards.

Yes, and tourists who decide to go on a trip still need time: most travelers, according to tour operators, prefer to plan expensive vacations at least six months in advance. In the current uncertainty, such a period is a luxury. So it is hardly possible to talk about a real restoration of the incoming Chinese flow before 2024.