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Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport to join China Friendly program this year

The program is aimed at attracting more Chinese tourists to Russia

MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. The Sheremetyevo airport is to join the China Friendly program this year, Oleg Safonov, head of the Federal Tourism Agency (Rosturism) said on Thursday.

The program is aimed at attracting more Chinese tourists to Russia, he said.

The agreement on cooperation between the Moscow-based airport and the World Without Borders tourists association, which is the program’s initiator, was signed in the airport earlier on Thursday.

"We are pleased that the leading international airport of our country, which pays much attention to the quality of services provided to passengers, has joined the China Friendly program," Safonov said.

"We are sure that the high standards of Sheremetyevo, which are being adjusted in accordance with the needs of Chinese tourists, will promote the growth of tourist traffic from China," he added.

He also noted that creating hospitable environment will enable tourists to "feel at home". The ultimate goal of such projects as China Friendly is to create comfortable conditions for guests from all countries in all regions of Russia, he added.

Andrei Nikulin, First Deputy General Director for Production of Sheremetyevo International Airport, in order to provide a special quality of services to tourists from China, the airport introduced a number of additional services.

"I would like to express a special hope that all those events, all those large construction projects, which are now being implemented by Sheremetyevo Airport, will create comfortable environment, will make a bridge between Europe and Asia and lead to the development of our relations with China as a whole," he said.

Sheremetyevo will become the first Russian airport joining China Friendly.

According to the airport’s press service, in 2016, Sheremetyevo received more than 3,000 flights from China, the passenger traffic amounted to more than 1.5 million people, which is 13% more than in 2015.

About China Friendly

The China Friendly project has been implemented since 2014 on the initiative and with the support of the World Without Borders Tourist Association.

The project covers hotels, restaurants, museums, entertainment centers, as well as companies providing tourist and excursion services.

The aim of the project is to increase the flow of tourists from China to Russia. China Friendly is a component of the Russian tourism agency project Russian hospitality, aimed at creating a favorable environment for tourists of all cultures in Russia.