China-Russia Tourism Year whips up Chinese interest

THE China-Russia Tourism Year, which was launched in March, has yielded positive results for Chinese inbound, according to Russian inbound tour operators attending CITM 2012. 

Speaking at a product presentation, Olesya Aliferenko, advisor, international department, Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism, revealed that Chinese tourist arrivals to Russia climbed 43 per cent to reach 113,000 in the first half of this year.

Svetlana Pyatikhatka, general director of World Without Borders (WWB), an association of Russian inbound tour operators appointed to organise Russian tourism tradeshows overseas, said: “This year sees the largest contingent of Russian operators represented at CITM, with 300 exhibitors across 24 regions of the country.

“To keep up the momentum, we will organise roadshows in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, in addition to participating in major tradeshows like GITF (Guangzhou International Travel Fair), BITE (Beijing International Travel Expo) and CITM.”

Meanwhile, long-standing relations between the two giants continue to keep Russian interest high among Chinese outbound tourists, according to Jiang Yanyan, manager of Soyuz Intour K’s Beijing office, which handled 70 per cent more business from China since the start of the year.

She said: “Our tours are particularly popular among Chinese aged above 50 who are more familiar with Russia’s history and culture, plus this segment also has more money and time at their disposal.”

Furthermore, Chinese tourists are now more inclined to visit destinations beyond Moscow and Saint Petersburg, noted several Russian tourism players.

Nina Kiseik, incoming department chief of Rus Tour, which recorded a 20 per cent increase in Chinese tourists, said: “We are offering new destinations such as Kazan, an old city with iconic mosques in Tatarstan, and the Baltic Republic.”

Encouraged by the 200 per cent surge in business from China since 2010, Oksana Trofimova-Nidentae, CEO of VisitUral.com, has partnered local tourism authorities to organise more fam trips to Ural for Chinese tour operators and media next year.

Sourced: TTG asia