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Coronavirus pandemic

Russian tour operators put group tours from China on hold

The tourists who have already entered Russia will not be forced to leave country ahead of schedule

© Olga Maltseva/TASS

MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Russian tour operators have put group tours from China on hold over coronavirus outbreak, Russian Union of Travel Industry says in a statement, adding that Monday, January 27, has become the last day Russia accepted Chinese tourist groups.

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Death toll from novel coronavirus in China hits 106 — media

"The Chinese authorities have not issued a centralized travel ban. Instead, they have delegated the decision to the regions, so each Chinese province made a decision separately. Some provinces reacted swiftly, while others took their time. Even yesterday, we were still processing groups, checking visa-free travel lists. By this moment, all lists are void, all group tours from China are suspended," the Union said citing Alexander Agamov, the CEO of World Without Borders tour association that unites almost 200 companies working with the Chinese market.

The tourists who have already entered Russia will not be forced to interrupt their tour and to leave country ahead of schedule, he noted.

The travel ban for Chinese tourists may reduce tourist flow from China in the first quarter of 2020 by some 70-80%, Agamov told TASS. In the first three months of 2019, 130,000 Chinese tourists visited Russia, and in 2020, this number was supposed to increase.

While making his predictions, Agamov assumed that the travel ban would hold until mid-February. In this scenario, the tour companies would be able to catch up before the end of this year. However, the related industries - hotels, museums, airlines - would have a hard time, especially during the low season, he speculated.

About the virus

The 2019-nCoV coronavirus-induced pneumonia has been detected in late December last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan. According to the latest data, the number of confirmed infection cases has increased to 4515, 106 of them were lethal. Infection cases were registered in almost every Chinese province, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The virus has also been identified in Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, South Korea, Singapore, the US, Thailand, France, Japan and Sri-Lanka. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a national emergency in China, but so far has refrained from declaring an international one.

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