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Hainan authorities forecast record tourist inflow from Russia in 2019

The authorities intend to work on new measures to increase the Russians' interest in the island of Hainan

HAIKOU, September 16. /TASS/. The flow of Russian tourists to China's Hainan in 2019 should reach a record number — 300,000 people, the island's governor Shen Xiaoming told TASS corresspondent on Monday.

“From January to August, 900,000 foreign tourists visited Hainan, 150,000 of them being Russians. As a result, the growth was fixed at 12%,” he said, answering a question from the agency during a press conference. “We expect that for the whole of 2019, the number of tourists from Russia will exceed 300 thousand people. "

According to Shen Xiaoming, the Hainan authorities are working on new measures to increase the attractiveness and popularity of the island among the Russian. “Our task is to turn Hainan into one of the key vacation spots for Russian tourists,” the governor pointed out.

Hainan is a famous international resort. In 2017, the number of Russians visiting the island increased by 250%, to a record 284,000, but in 2018 this figure dropped by 10%. Russia is considered one of the main sources of the external tourist flow of the province. Starting this year, visa-free trsvel has been in effect for Russian citizens in the region.

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