Priced out Chinese travel to Russia is booming. So why is the tourism industry complaining?

Chinese tourism to Russia is booming — believe it or not. In 2024, four times as many Chinese nationals visited Russia through tour operators as in the previous year. Official data show that 106,700 Chinese travelers arrived in the first quarter of 2025 — a 7.9 percent year-on-year increase. Groups of Chinese tourists have become a common sight again, from iconic spots like the Moscow Metro and the Hermitage Museum to less traditional destinations such as the Far North and Far East. So why isn’t Russia’s tourism industry celebrating their return? Meduza translates a report from Forbes Russia that digs into the reasons.

In 2024, approximately 848,040 Chinese tourists visited Russia through tour operators, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). That’s a sharp rise from 199,791 the year before. (These numbers exclude business travelers and independent tourists.)

In total, about 1.2 million Chinese citizens visited Russia last year, while 1.6 million Russians traveled to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on May 8.

So far in 2025, China remains Russia’s top source of inbound tourism. Between January and March, 228,800 foreign tourists entered the country, and nearly half of them — 106,700 — came from China, according to the Federal Security Service's (FSB) border service. The recent surge follows the August 2023 revival of the two countries’ mutual visa-free travel program for organized tour groups. According to the Russian tour agency Intourist, 350,000 Chinese tourists used the visa-free program to visit Russia during the summer of 2024 alone. Intourist told Forbes Russia that its Chinese tourist numbers in 2024 grew by 150 percent compared to 2023.

However, the influx has created new problems: a severe shortage of Mandarin-speaking guides and overloaded infrastructure during peak season. The situation is particularly dire in Primorsky Krai, where demand for transportation and hotel rooms far outstrips supply.

A spike in demand — and sudden cancellations

Travel between China and Russia has become easier. During the early May holidays in both countries, direct flights rose 25 percent, according to Yandex Travel. From May 1–7, there were 89 direct flights from China to Russia — up from 71 during the same period last year — and average ticket prices fell 6 percent, from 52,750 rubles ($660) to 49,750 rubles ($620).

But while airfares are down, package tours have become 20–30 percent more expensive compared to pre-COVID prices. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists have grown more sensitive to news events, especially those involving security concerns. For example, after last year’s terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, many group tours scheduled for the spring were canceled, according to Polina Rysakova, head of the Laboratory for Chinese Tourism Studies.

Chinese visitors are also changing how and where they travel. ATOR executive director Maya Lomidze told Forbes that tourists from China once focused on Moscow and St. Petersburg, but now about half travel to Russia’s Far East, especially Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai.

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The shift is partly driven by safety concerns. Frequent drone strikes in central Russia have redirected tourist flows toward Lake Baikal and the Pacific coast, according to Alexander Lvov, general director of the tour agency Retro-Tourism and head of the World Without Borders tourism association.

Additionally, while most Chinese tourists once arrived by plane, many now come overland by bus, Rysakova said. More visitors are traveling independently, and many now come from China’s wealthier eastern provinces.

Murmansk sees a new record

In 2024, about 26,000 Chinese tourists visited the Murmansk region in Russia's Far North — five times more than the previous year, according to the Chinese Consulate General in St. Petersburg. Drawn by the northern lights, Arctic crab, and dog and reindeer sledding, Chinese travelers are opting for “Arctic adventure” tours in Russia that cost far less than comparable packages in Finland.

But amid the surge in tourist numbers, Murmansk tour companies have begun complaining that Chinese businesses are edging out Russian competitors. According to them, the situation is now worse than it was before the pandemic. (For context, in 2019, the region saw about 16,000 visitors from China.)

“We used to work with organized groups, but now individual tourists come with their own guides and drivers,” Elena Purlitsis, general director of the tour company Polar Star, told Forbes. She says the peak season falls during Chinese New Year, when many flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg are packed with Chinese travelers.

These tourists often book services through Chinese apps like CTrip or WeChat, travel in rented minivans, and frequent Chinese-owned cafes and guesthouses. The result, Purlitsis said, is traffic congestion, safety concerns on narrow roads, and locals being priced out of hotels during peak season.

At a public meeting with Governor Andrey Chibis in February, some Murmansk residents voiced intensely xenophobic frustrations. “The Chinese are dirty, they leave trash behind... and they act arrogant towards locals,” one attendee said. Chibis responded that tourism from Asia was fueling growth in the regional economy.

Before the pandemic, Chinese group tours followed a well-established model: tourists ate, shopped, and slept at Chinese-owned businesses. Many of those companies closed during COVID-19, but some are still operating, according to Rysakova.

The guide gap

In Moscow, tourism services aimed at Chinese visitors have all but collapsed, according to the owner of a Russian tour company. Chinese tour agencies market Russia as a bargain destination — ads offer weeklong trips, including flights, food, and excursions, for just 3,500 yuan (around 39,000 rubles, or less than $500). But these low-cost packages only work for tour operators if tourists spend big once they arrive.

“They use travelers as logistics chains,” the Russian tour company owner explained. “People bring in tablets, smartphones, and other electronics to resell here. That offsets the trip cost.” Chinese tour agencies also pad these bargain tours with optional excursions, such as visits to souvenir shops — where a single tourist might spend an extra $2,000 on average.

As a result, her company finds it increasingly labor-intensive and unprofitable to work with Chinese groups. When they quote realistic prices — about 30,000 yuan for a week (roughly 333,000 rubles, or $4,200) — they seem overpriced to Chinese tourists. “We had an official delegation visit, and it took a lot of effort to convince them that 2,500 rubles [$30] for a multi-course lunch at a nice restaurant in Moscow was a reasonable price,” she said. The company has recently shifted its focus to Russian travelers and outbound tours to China and other Asian countries.

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New regulations have further complicated the situation. Since March 2025, only certified Russian citizens can legally work as guides or interpreters, under amendments to Russia’s tourism law. But enforcement is weak, and Chinese groups still routinely use their own unlicensed guides.

“There’s no penalty,” said Lvov. “And it’s hard to prove someone’s leading a tour and not just walking around with friends.”

There’s also a shortage of alternatives. According to one operator, there are fewer than 10 Mandarin-speaking tour guides in all of Moscow. Meanwhile, many skilled Mandarin speakers are finding better pay in logistics, education, and translation, where daily rates reach 60,000–70,000 rubles ($750–$875), compared to the 20,000 rubles ($250) offered by tour agencies.

“There are too many restrictions for local guides,” the operator said. “A Russian guide was recently detained in the Moscow metro for not having a special pass for underground tours. She had to leave her Taiwanese group behind and spend two hours at the police station. Meanwhile, unlicensed Chinese guides face no such issues.”

Tourism experts say the law needs teeth. “We’re really hoping that amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses will be passed soon, so there’s finally some accountability for unaccredited guides,” Lvov said.

Still, even those pushing for penalties admit there’s no one to replace the Chinese guides. A majority of Chinese tourists want Mandarin-speaking professionals, many of whom left the industry during the pandemic and never returned.

Chinese tourism to Russia as a whole has yet to recover to pre-COVID levels. In 2019, 1.2 million Chinese travelers visited the country on organized tours. If those numbers return, the industry may be overwhelmed by staffing shortages and strained infrastructure.