Expert: More than 230,000 Chinese tourists visit Moscow in six months

In the first six months of 2025, over 230,000 tourists from China visited Moscow. The People’s Republic of China retains its status as the leader among long-haul countries for inbound tourist flows to the capital. This was reported in an exclusive comment to TV BRICS by Anton Kharchenko, Head of the Department for Interaction with Foreign Authorities of the Moscow Tourism Committee.

“If we take the Chinese New Year, which has already been held on a large scale in our city – for example, the most recent one, it was attended this year by over one and a half million people. Some Chinese tourists noted that, in some ways, the Chinese New Year was celebrated in Moscow more brightly and interestingly than in certain cities in China. It was very pleasant to hear that,” he said.

The structure of the flow is changing: an increasing number of Chinese visitors come to Moscow individually or for business purposes. According to the committee, their average expenditure is 4–6 times higher than that of travellers in organised groups. China consistently ranks among the top five countries whose tourists come to Moscow with the highest average spending. The interests of such tourists are shifting from classic attractions to new locations, restaurants, and premium hotels.

To attract and facilitate visitors from the PRC, a number of measures have been implemented. Navigation in Chinese has been introduced at airports and tourist sites. Moscow actively maintains social media for the Chinese audience and relaunched in 2025 a special version of its website with interactive maps and an integrated chatbot.

“Moscow has official pages on all the main social networks in China […] There, we actively share not only information about our city and new attractions but also travel tips, how to get here, and how to spend time in an interesting and high-quality way. In addition, we launched our official page on a tourist platform. This page contains more than 30,000 offers in Moscow, including hotels, guides, tours, transfers, museums, and tickets – in short, everything. […] Moscow has thus become an accessible and understandable city for Chinese tourists,” Kharchenko emphasised.

In addition to digital tools, the city is promoted through live cultural events. For the first time, the Moscow Seasons festival was held on the central pedestrian street in Beijing, attracting almost three million visitors over four days. Kharchenko noted that there is also engagement with the Chinese tourism industry: outbound business missions are organised to various cities in China, where the Russian side presents Moscow and helps establish connections, and familiarisation visits to the Russian capital are arranged for top Chinese tour operators.

The cancellation of the visa regime, according to Anton Kharchenko, became a significant stimulus for growing interest in Moscow. Added to this is accessibility: more than a hundred direct flights connect Moscow and Chinese cities every week.

Kharchenko emphasised that China is the main market for Moscow tourism. After the decline caused by the pandemic, the flow from the PRC is not only recovering quantitatively but is also changing qualitatively, prompting the city to adapt its infrastructure and services accordingly.

Photo: TV BRICS