Chinese tourists are flooding Russia in huge numbers and are especially fond of the arctic regions. The number of Chinese tourists travelling to the lands of the Northern Lights has increased by 400% in 2017. This was reported by one of China’s largest tourism portals Ctrip. Russian arctic was one of the most popular arctic regions.
Russian news site, Sputnik, reported that 840 thousand visa-free Chinese visitors arrived in Russia in the first nine months of 2017. This is a 24% increase compared to 2016. Good relations between both countries amplify tourism and travel, guaranteeing simpler visa policies and a large number of flights.
Chinese tourists became leading visitors among foreigners of the Russian Arctic national park in 2017. The number of guests from China was 18% of the total tourist flow during the three summer months.
“In the summer season of 2017, the Russian Arctic national park was visited by 1,142 people from 36 countries. 209 of these people were Chinese tourists. The overall growth of the tourist flow to the park was 20% compared to 2016,” the press secretary of the park Julia Petrova noted.
According to her, Chinese tourists often choose tours on the icebreaker to the North Pole, despite their high cost – from 28 to 40 thousand dollars. There were five cruises in the summer season, with more than 80% of passengers being from China.
The Russian Arctic national park is also doing as much as possible to make Chinese guests feel at home. Information and menus on the icebreaker are written in Chinese, while the park also offers guidebooks in Chinese for easier understanding.
There is great potential in the Russian market. The country can still improve its services for Chinese visitors in order to satisfy the demand in various aspects. However, one thing is certain – Sino-Russian tourism will continue to grow in 2018.