Officials from the Russia’s tourism sector have been very busy lately as the country is welcoming a wave of ‘Red Tourists’ from China.
Every week, busload of Chinese tourists arrive at the country to pay their tribute to the Chinese Communist leader Wang Ming, who has been buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery along with some of the prominent politicians, writers and composers of Russia.
One of the travellers from Shanghai, Cheng Ling has informed that they are learning about Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin, and how they created this country.
Previously, the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine have caused the relationship of Russia with the Western countries to take a massive hit. The low oil prices and the punitive sanctions have also battered the economy of the country. Both the conditions have affected the tourism sector of the country in a negative way. But at present, the country is welcoming a record number of Chinese tourists, as the value of rouble has declined. Apart from these, the visa-free travel opportunity have forced the red tourists from China to visit Russia more than ever.
The idea of red tourism has gained popularity under President Xi Jinping. Travellers have chosen to visit the various historical sites related to the Communist Party of China. Both the countries of China and Russia have signed an agreement in June’15 in Mao Zedong’s birthplace Shaoshan, so that the Chinese travellers can get to travel through the red-tourism routes.
According to the director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, Wolfgang Arlt, travel to Russia is considered politically correct. He has also stated that due to the terror attacks on France and Belgium, Russia is being considered as a very safe option.
According to research data released in June’16 by the firm ‘Euromonitor’, in 2016 over 1.1 million Chinese travellers are expected to visit Russia, which is almost 15% more than the tourism figure of 2015. The recent figures have put Russia at the 16th position on the list of Chinese travellers.
The flagship carrier of Russia, Aeroflot has informed that in 2014 and 2015, the airline has witness an increase of 15% and 14% in trips to and from China.
It has been found that the younger tourists are travelling with their parents in order to honour them. The adventure tour operator Russian Discovery has informed that in 2015, almost 200,000 Chinese travellers visited Russia on communist-inspired trips. The itinerary includes visiting the birthplace of Lenin at Ulyanovsk in central Russia, the city of Kazan, St. Petersburg, Moscow and many more.
