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Coronavirus pandemic

Organized trips of Chinese tourists to Russia suspended until mid-March

The tours were suspended on January 28, after Chinese officials temporarily restricted tourism abroad in order to avoid the spread of the coronavirus

MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Russian tour operators have suspended organized trips of Chinese tourists to Russia until at least mid-March due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Russian Union of Travel Industry informed.

The tours were suspended on January 28, after Chinese officials temporarily restricted tourism abroad in order to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

"Chinese tour operators inform Russian partners that no active measures will be taken until mid-March. They are confident that it will be impossible to open the borders for organized tourist groups earlier than that even in the best-case scenario. So at this point, the tourist flow is frozen," the union informed.

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Winter is a low season for Chinese tourism to Russia, the union added, so Russian tour operators are more concerned over the purchase of summer tours. "If the coronavirus outbreak subsides, and the travel ban for Chinese citizens is lifted by late April, the receiving companies can organize trips for the summer season. If the ban is lifted later, it is unlikely," the press service stated.

Russian tourism industry may lose up to $100 mln if the travel ban for Chinese tourists is not lifted by late March, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said earlier.

On the outcomes of 2019, organized tourism from China to Russia grew by 12% compared to the previous year, with 1.2 mln Chinese nationals visiting Russia, the World Without Borders travel association informed TASS earlier. Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Primorsky Region and the Amur Region are the most popular destinations among Chinese tourists.

It was expected that over 130,000 Chinese tourists would visit Russia in the first quarter of 2020, World Without Borders Executive Director Alexander Agamov informed TASS earlier.

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