China and Russia to deepen tourism cooperation

Demands of bilateral tourism between China and Russia are currently riding a tide wave, which is expected to see a significant growth along with the deepening of tourism cooperation between the two sides.

Statistics from China National Tourism Administration reveals that the number of Chinese tourists travelling to Russia in 2017 reached 1.5 million; and China received 2.3 million Russian tourists in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 19.5 percent. 

China has become Russia’s largest foreign tourism destination of Russia, and is also a top 3 country for most popular outbound destination for Russians.

Heilongjiang province in Northeast China is the core region developing tourism cooperation with Russia, due to its geographic advantage sharing a long border line with Russia and convenient transportation via road, river and air.

Heilongjiang has gradually established tourism cooperation mechanisms with Amurskaya Oblast, coastal border areas, Khabarovsk border areas, Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Outer Baikal border areas in Russia since 1980s. Cooperation with Chelyabinskaya Oblast and Sakhalin Oblast is currently under negotiation.

Currently, Heilongjiang has 98 outbound travel agencies and 118 border travel agencies, ranking first in China.

Harbin, Mundanjiang, Jiamusi, Heihe Suifenhe and Fuyuan are the main cities organizing and receiving border travel tourists.

In the future, it is said that the number of Chinese tourists bounding for Russia will reach 6 million, as with the launching and establishing of more tourism facilitation policies and facilities.