MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Massive tourist flow from China to Russia is expected in mid-August - early September 2023, vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Alexander Kurnosov told TASS.

"A flight schedule, hotels, and excursion services must be organized. Some time is required. The flow will most likely peak between mid-August and early September," he said.

According to the expert, there has been no resurgence in travel demand from both the Russian and Chinese sides so far. He noted that only a short time had passed since the announcement that group visa-free travel between the countries will begin on August 1. Kurnosov noted that prior to the pandemic, approximately 1-1.4 mln Chinese tourists visited Russia each year.

Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said earlier on Wednesday that visa-free tourist travel between Russia and China will begin soon. "We plan to launch the first visa-free tourist group trips to Iran and China. We have exchanged a list of tour operators, all formalities have been completed, and we anticipate that the first groups will arrive any day and add to the tourist flow," Reshetnikov said.

China resumed tourist trips for organized groups of visitors, including to Russia, on February 6. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development confirmed on February 20 that the agreement between Russia and China for visa-free group tourist trips has been also resumed.