Russian Tourism Agency, Kamchatka Territory Agree On Visa-Free Entry For Chinese Tourists

Russian Tourism Agency, Kamchatka Territory Agree on Visa-Free Entry for Chinese Tourists

The governor of Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Territory, Vladimir Ilyukhin, and the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), Oleg Safonov, have signed an agreement on visa-free entry for Chinese tourists to the region, the regional government's website said on Friday.

VLADIVOSTOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2018) The governor of Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Territory, Vladimir Ilyukhin, and the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), Oleg Safonov, have signed an agreement on visa-free entry for Chinese tourists to the region, the regional government's website said on Friday.

"The main purpose of the agreement is to support and develop inbound tourism from China to Russia within the framework of the Russian-Chinese visa-free tourist exchange," the government said.

Safonov expressed hope that more and more Chinese tourists would be visiting the Kamchatka Territory.

He added that the region had intensified efforts to promote its tourist products in the Asia Pacific market, and mentioned traditional dog sled race Beringia as an example of the region's tourist attractions.

In January, Russia expanded the simplified visa regime, previously introduced in the Far Eastern region of the Primorsky Territory in 2017, to the regions of Sakhalin and Kamchatka. The new regime allows citizens of 18 countries, including those of China, to enter Russia on electronic visas.