Excessive demand for visas to China has been recorded in

Russia,writes editionThe building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in MoscowThe building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in MoscowThe building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in MoscowThe building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in MoscowThe building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Moscow

Two days after the resumption of work of the Chinese visa centers in Russia, all free temporary slots for obtaining a visa ended. This was reported by Kommersant with reference to the deputy head of the visa and migration department of Continent Express Yulia Otvagina and the head of the corporate department of Visakhod Marina Shirokova.

According to Otvagina, as of March 17, the nearest free date for filing documents in Moscow is May 23, in St. Petersburg  - April 20. If the applicants refuse, the vacant seats are occupied by bots, Shirokova added.

Market participants told the newspaper that the biggest demand is for business visas. Thus, many Russian companies tend to take part in the Canton Fair, which will be held in Guangzhou from April 15 to May 5. In addition, after reorienting to the Chinese market against the backdrop of Western sanctions, Russian companies need to regularly negotiate with partners from the Middle Kingdom.

As Alina Protsenko, head of the Aeroclub visa support department, notes, business visas are most often applied for from the FMCG industry, the construction, mining, and manufacturing sectors.

Among representatives of the IT industry, there is also a high demand for business visas, added Galina Polishchuk, managing director of Vipservice's corporate business.

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In addition, China has risen from 50th to 12th place in the list of popular outbound destinations, according to OneTwoTrip. Beijing accounts for 28% of the country's flight bookings, 23% for Shanghai and 18% for Guangzhou.

Ostrovok.ru notes that in the first two weeks of March, the number of search queries for hotels in China increased six times compared to February, and the number of bookings doubled.

Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin admitted that the tourist flow to China this year could reach 30-40% of the pre-pandemic level if the issue of visa-free groups is resolved by May. However, further growth is constrained by limited air traffic. Gorin recalled that only planes without double registration can fly to China, of which Russian airlines have only 180.

In early February, the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and Culture announced that Chinese travel agencies could resume sending groups to Russia.

After that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia told RBC that Moscow and Beijing had renewed the agreement on visa-free group tourist trips, suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic . It allows organized groups of up to 50 tourists to visit countries on the lists without obtaining a visa and stay there for up to 15 days.