300 thousand tourists from China are expected in Primorye in 2023

The head of the region Oleg Kozhemyako noted that the issue of visiting China by residents of the region as part of small tourist groups of several people, as well as the resumption of visa-free regime, is being worked out.

Primorsky Krai expects up to 300 thousand tourists from China in 2023. This was announced on Monday by the governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako on the air of the TV channel "Russia-1", while in China.
"Maybe it won't be such a sharp increase right away, but we hope that 300 thousand [tourists from China] will still visit Primorsky Krai in a year. Therefore, we are preparing for this, our institutions, catering establishments, cultural centers, exhibition halls, businesses are preparing. Everyone is very positive and, of course, we expect the establishment of direct relations and the lifting of all covid restrictions, and the impetus for this was Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, and such a kind warm meeting of our leaders," Kozhemyako said, commenting on the prospects for the growth of tourist traffic from China with the resumption of communication between Russia and China.
The head of the region added that the issue of visiting China by residents of Primorye as part of small tourist groups of several people, as well as the resumption of visa-free regime, is being worked out. Currently, there is no certification of the lists of groups for visa-free tourist trips. Citizens traveled to China for work matters and returned home from Russia before the Chinese New Year holidays. Employees of international organizations also crossed the border. Organized tourist groups do not cross the border yet. In 2020, the Chinese authorities banned the departure of tour groups abroad, as well as organized travel to regions within the PRC as part of the fight against the spread of coronavirus.
On Sunday, after a three-year break, regular flights between Vladivostok and Harbin were resumed. The first plane took off at the head of the business mission of the region, the governor of Primorye. In his Telegram channel, he reported that high-level meetings were planned in Harbin and Beijing. So, earlier in Harbin, during a working meeting, Kozhemyako and Vice-Governor of Heilongjiang Province Yu Jian discussed initiatives to increase the capacity of border crossings and resume visa-free travel for tour groups.
Before the pandemic, in 2019, Primorye was visited by 5 million tourists, of which more than 940 thousand were foreigners, 456 thousand of them were Chinese citizens. After the restriction of international traffic, as well as in connection with general measures for the prevention of coronavirus, the tourism industry of the region has suffered significantly. Tourist exchanges between Primorye and China stopped in 2020 due to restrictions caused by the spread of coronavirus. Then the tourist flow in the region decreased by 80%, writes "TASS".