Russia's tourism sector could lose $455 million if Chinese coronavirus crisis continues until summer - tour operators

Health concerns over the new COVID-19 coronavirus have led to strong measures in Russia. The Far Eastern border with China has been closed, and most Chinese visitors face restrictions. Now financial losses are being assessed.

Experts forecast that the country's tourism industry may lose almost 3 billion rubles ($47 million), in just the next two months. That's according to ATOR, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. China is typically the largest single source of tourists to Russia: providing 1.5 million visitors in 2019.

While the situation is bad, it could get much worse. If Chinese holidaymakers don't return to Russia by the peak summer season, ATOR estimates potential losses at 31.2 billion rubles ($455 million).

At the end of January, the Chinese government banned its citizens from going abroad in tour groups, which is how the vast majority of Chinese people visiting Russia travel, facilitated by a visa-free agreement.

Yesterday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced a measure that will ban most categories of Chinese citizens from entering Russia, to come in effect from Thursday.

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"The average price of a tour (without plane tickets) for one Chinese tourist is about $500. In February alone, Russian tour operators lost at least 1.4 billion rubles," ATOR reported. "It's clear that in March, Chinese tourists will not come to Russia either: bookings have been canceled. The revenue from receiving Chinese tourists in March will also come up to at least 1.4 billion rubles.". Two months of 1.4 billion rubles mean that the tourist industry will be down almost 3 billion by the end of March.

According to ATOR, from January-March 2019, about 40,000 Chinese visitors came to Russia each month. It was expected that this would rise by at least 10% in 2020.

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