SOCHI, May 28. /TASS/. Russia and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) maintain intensive contact in the development of tourism and, in essence, form a unified market in the hospitality industry. The annual mutual tourist flow totals approximately 10 mln vacationers, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov told reporters.

"We have a joint market. To give an example, about 5 mln Russian citizens travel to CIS countries for tourism, and about 5 mln citizens of CIS countries visit us. These are very diverse types of tourism: not just leisure trips but also medical tourism, educational tourism, and business tourism. It is a very intensive interaction," he said.

Reshetnikov emphasized that the joint market of the tourism industry fosters the development of unified vacation standards, facilitates contacts to resolve issues of infrastructural limitations, and enhances workforce qualifications.