Source: Global Times
On May 21, the article of Forbes Russian website read, "We cannot break through" noisy groups of Chinese tourists have reappeared in Moscow subway, Teriberka and other places. The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Russia is increasing. The Russian tourism operators association said that about 850,000 Chinese tourists would visit Russia in 2024, and China will continue to be the leader of inbound tourism in Russia in 2025. Faced with a large number of Chinese guests coming in, the Russian tourism industry (while happy) worries about how to receive them. At present, the main problems are the lack of tour guides who understand Chinese, insufficient tourism infrastructure during peak season - especially in the Primorsky Krai, where the shortage is particularly serious. During the peak tourist season, there is not enough transportation and hotel support there.
Polina Resakova, director of the "China Tourism Research Lab" in Russia, said that the geographical location of Chinese tourists traveling to Russia has also changed now. Previously, they often went to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Now, about 50% of them go to the Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai. The proportion of independent travelers has also increased significantly.
In 2024, 26,000 Chinese citizens visited the Murmansk Oblast, which was five times that of the previous year. Chinese visitors mainly came to see the aurora, eat crabs, ride deer, and take dog sleds. With the increase in the number of Chinese tourists, local travel agencies complained that "previously we cooperated with groups, but now independent travelers come with their own guides and drivers." A local resident complained to the governor during a meeting, saying, "some Chinese tourists litter..." The governor replied that it was precisely because of these guests that the number of tourists in the Murmansk region had increased.
Russia has implemented mandatory certification for tour guides since March this year. Only those with certification can become tour guides.对此, the owner of a Moscow travel agency, Alexander Livov, said that currently, there is a severe shortage of Chinese-speaking guides. There are not many Chinese-speaking guides in the whole of Moscow who are both willing and able to cooperate with travel agencies. The reason is that nowadays, Chinese interpreters are very popular in other fields in Russia. Sometimes they can earn six or seven hundred thousand rubles in a day, while travel agencies can only pay them two hundred thousand rubles per day. Many young people are unwilling to engage in this profession.
At present, the number of Chinese tourists has not yet reached the level of 2019, when 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Russia. If it returns to this level, the problems of insufficient Russian guides and tourism infrastructure will be more serious. (Author: Yelena Grellova, translated by Liu Yupeng)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507402972075278885/
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