MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Tourist flow from China to Russia will recover in full no earlier than 2024, in particular due to the imminent end of the high tourist season in Russia. Executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said this at a press conference in TASS on Wednesday.

"I assume that we will see the Chinese flow in full not earlier than next year. There will be some groups, and certainly not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg," she said.The industry expert recalled that in China the high tourist season is autumn while in Russia it is summer.

In addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Chinese tourists like to visit the Primorye, Khabarovsk, Amur and Irkutsk regions and the Republic of Buryatia.

Earlier, the Economic Development Ministry reported that Russia and China are ready to receive groups of tourists on a reciprocal basis from August 1 under an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free group tourist exchanges. Later, ATOR noted that tour operators would start sending Russian tourists to China on a group visa-free basis no earlier than September 2023.