Published on: 2026-05-18
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Moscow, May 18 /Xin Hua/ — The visa-free regime between Russia and China has led to an increase in mutual tourist flow, which contributes to the development of relations between the two countries. This was stated on Monday at a press conference by the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for relations with international organizations for achieving sustainable development goals, Chairman of the Russian side of the Russian-Chinese Committee of Friendship, Peace and Development Boris Titov, summing up the results of the first six months of the visa-free regime between Russia and China.
“The most important thing we see is that tourist exchanges between our countries have increased. In the fourth quarter of 2025, there were 746 thousand trips from Russia to China, which is 40% more compared to the same period in 2024. We can see that there is also growth in trips from China — approximately by 30%,” he said.
B. Titov recalled that the CPR opened visa-free access to Russians two and a half months earlier, on September 15, 2025, and the effect, according to him, was explosive. By the New Year, hotel bookings in China by independent tourists from Russia increased by 70% compared to the 2024 level.
In 2026, the rapid growth continued. According to data from the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia, from January to March Russians made 396 thousand tourist trips to China. This is 62.4% more than in the same period the previous year. China took third place among the most popular destinations for Russian tourists, behind only Egypt and Turkey.
“Our forecast: the flow of tourists from the Russian side will grow. This is indicated not only by the visa-free regime, but also by a number of economic and political factors. Part of the destinations are stagnating today, primarily the Middle East and Cuba. At the same time, a strong ruble contributes to Russians spending their vacations abroad,” shared the expectations of the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation.
B. Titov also provided data according to which, in the first quarter of 2026, 220 thousand CIS citizens arrived in Russia for tourist, business, and personal purposes. “This is 24 percent more than in the same period of 2025,” he specified.
For tourists from China, the main points of attraction remain Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and the border cities of the Far East — Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, and Khabarovsk. “There is also a continuing trend toward nature tourism. Everyone knows that Baikal is one of the places of attraction for Chinese tourists, as well as the Arctic and the north of Russia. Murmansk is a popular tourist center, including thanks to the Northern Lights. This phenomenon is very interesting to the Chinese,” noted B. Titov.
According to him, more and more Chinese tourists prefer individual tours to Russia or trips in small groups. “At the same time, the age composition is changing. If earlier these were people of middle and older age, today a lot of young people come to Russia. We see a great potential for educational tourism, therefore we believe that the flow of young people will only increase,” emphasized B. Titov.
The special representative of the Russian leader also drew attention to the impact of the visa-free regime on the development of business ties between the two countries. “Russia is increasingly interested in developing relations with China, so 20 percent of all trips by Russian businessmen are to China,” he said, adding that visa-free travel facilitates short business trips, especially in border areas. This creates an “economy of quick decisions,” and also expands opportunities for private visits, participation in exhibitions, negotiations, cultural events, and educational exchanges for short periods.
B. Titov is convinced that visa-free travel, the development of economic relations, cultural ties, and educational programs contribute to bringing the peoples of Russia and China closer. “All this leads to the fact that there are fewer and fewer borders between our two countries,” he concluded. –0–
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an exact report of what the source claims, and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.