Selling your products and services to Chinese tourists. For Chinese tourists, they made a memo on how to behave in Russia
I work for a company that receives Chinese delegations in Russia. Usually these are both government-level delegations and ordinary tourist groups.
Having counted 500 Chinese who visited Russia in a week, whom I coordinated, and from whom my phone shuddered every minute, I decided that it was time to write an essay about Chinese tourists, especially since I have to work closely with them and often replace the guide herself - losers and unfortunate translators.)
1. mass character
The Chinese travel to Russia in large groups. Usually 30-40 people. It is not easy to manage such a crowd, as they often disperse and get lost. That year, we searched for the missing Chinese on Red Square for several hours, and eventually found him near the monument to Marshal Zhukov. I had to ask fifty Chinese if they got lost :) For convenience, usually each group has its own flag and caps or T-shirts.
2.The guide, as the leader of the group, is cunning and merciless
An unmanaged group of Chinese tourists is usually managed by a tour guide - a person who resolves all ground handling issues in Russia and serves as a kind of intermediary between Russians and Chinese. The profession is difficult and the characters of tour guides are usually appropriate. Tour guides are usually famous for the fact that they like to knock on their superiors about the shortcomings of the reception in Russia: both the guides who lead the tour and the drivers with hoteliers fall under the scope. Rarely do tour leaders like everything. Usually these are cunning Chinese of the nature of small traders who take profits from shops where they bring tourists, from guides who supply groups and tickets to entertainment places. Turgid guides usually skillfully transfer their mistakes to others, not shunning moral principles.
3. Settlement of several people
Usually the Chinese settle in groups of several people. Only the big boss is accommodated one at a time, they always choose the largest and most expensive room for him.
In an effort to save money, the Chinese can put a few extra beds even when there are no places at all. Recently, I organized a reception for business groups in Yekaterinburg at the large industrial exhibition Innoprom. Several important Chinese did not have enough space, they resolved the issue by sleeping two on the same bed, and nothing, they were accommodated.
4.Hotels - the pursuit of simplicity.
Requirements for hotels are growing every year.
Hoteliers, in turn, bow to the Chinese, but still cannot provide high-level service.
Usually the Chinese prefer cheap 3-4* hotels. A big plus is the presence of a Chinese restaurant in the hotel.
The Chinese like to be indignant when there are no kettles or boilers with hot water in the room, as they drink it in large quantities and brew noodles in it, which they bring with them to Russia. Of the special requirements, this is usually rice for breakfast, the presence of chopsticks in restaurants, air conditioning, slippers and a bathrobe.
5.Love for native food
Chinese tourists, being in a foreign land, still prefer Chinese restaurants. Obviously, local restaurants with food that is completely non-Chinese. Often there are complaints about the service, lack of sanitary standards and tasteless food. Chinese restaurants, which receive large streams, really do not have a high quality of cooking. Usually lunch and dinner for a Chinese tourist costs about $8-10. Waiters and staff usually do not speak Russian, so you need to communicate with them in Chinese. Recently, by the way, the Chinese have suddenly fallen in love with the MUMU cafe. We took them there several times and the word of mouth made this cafe popular. The Chinese like meat, noodles, all kinds of kebabs. They rarely choose sweets and fruits. Alcoholic beverages are usually beer. 
6. Guides - connoisseurs of history
Guides for Chinese tourists is a separate story. Usually, the Chinese prefer to order the services of guides from China to visit Russian sights.
Russian licensed guides, who are issued by a special association, according to the tourists themselves, "do not understand" because of the complexity of spoken Chinese.
As a rule, the history of Russia in the mouths of Chinese guides is very specific and alternative. So once, the Chinese guide, when asked what kind of monument, where Yuri Dolgoruky was located on a horse, answered without blinking: "This is Lenin on horseback." The skyscraper on the Kotelnicheskaya embankment is called Moscow State University, and the Lavra was built by the Chinese) Students and graduate students from China usually work as guides. The income from such work is very good - from $ 90 per day plus tips. You can earn up to $200 a day.
7. Moscow-Peter-Baikal
Favorite cities to visit for the Chinese are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi. Sometimes Kazan and Novosibirsk are included in the list.
Baikal enjoys special love, where the Chinese spend 7-10 days. River cruises from Moscow and St. Petersburg are sometimes popular. St. Petersburg attracts with its European style, Moscow is not so interesting, except perhaps the capital. Sochi-Olympic objects. Of course, the Chinese from the North visit the Far East: Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.
8. Lack of interest in Orthodoxy
Despite all the speculations of the government to attract interest in Orthodox churches, the Chinese do not experience this interest. Usually they go to Lavra or Suzdal to look at ancient temples without going into details. 
9. Love for shopping.
The Chinese in Russia are avid shopaholics. They usually buy branded items, military clothing, amber (which, according to Chinese beliefs, cures diseases), chocolate and vodka.
Once, when I was working as a guide, we spent several hours buying army combat boots for a big Chinese boss. All the other small-level bosses just silently endured, and I also had to suggest which style was better. There are also unpleasant stories when the Chinese buy fake amber, and then sue or buy tiger skins, with which they are wrapped at the border. 
10.Chinese pensioners, cheerful and lively.
A separate chapter is Chinese pensioners, who make up the main contingent of groups in Russia.
They are lively and vigorous, they are active and cheerful. They don't get tired.
Recently, a 95-year-old grandfather came to us, I was very worried, no matter how hard it was for him. And grandfather broke all stereotypes, having stood in line for an hour to the mausoleum to see the leader of the world proletariat.
Another Chinese grandmother became seriously ill in St. Petersburg, the disease threatened to completely numb her body. Everyone was very worried about her health, but the next day my grandmother jumped up and ran to the Hermitage, scattering all the doctors. 
11. Love for the military theme
As mentioned above, Russia is shrouded in a haze of militarism in the eyes of Chinese tourists.
In addition to the love of military clothing, paraphernalia, the Chinese with higher incomes go to Russia to ride tanks, shoot and taste army food.
Pleasure is not cheap, but apparently Russian militants have played a positive role in shaping the image of Russia.
And still:
Chinese tourists, despite their complex habits, which are not easy to understand, are often very friendly and nice. You just need to find a way to approach them)
A quarter of a million Chinese spent at least a billion rubles in St. Petersburg in a year. The city did not see this money. Market participants talk about a small but strong mafia.
Alexander Petrosyan/Kommersant
In terms of Chinese tourist traffic, the northern capital is second only to Moscow and, of course, the Far East. Over the past year, 225,000 Chinese arrived in the city on the Neva only within the framework of a visa-free exchange. In May this year, according to tour operators, more than 15.5 thousand tourists from China visited Moscow and St. Petersburg. They check into hotels, walk, eat, buy souvenirs and jewelry. That's just their money does not settle in the city budget. Spinning on the shadow St. Petersburg market, the yuan returns to the Middle Kingdom, and sometimes does not leave it at all.
Bill and Tip - in China
The city has dozens of restaurants catering to Chinese tourists. Even if we do not talk about small chufalny on the outskirts, only in the center are striking "Chinese Court" on Labor Square, "Tang Zhao" on Izmailovsky, "Compass" on the Griboyedov Canal. Such establishments belong to the Chinese. This does not mean that a native St. Petersburg resident will not be able to get there, but only a tourist from the Middle Kingdom, who arrived as part of a group, can count on special payment conditions. In Compass, for example, it turned out that money can simply be transferred to a manager's card in China on account of a future lunch. The main thing is to do this in advance so that the cardholder has information about the transfer of funds.
Apparently, this is common practice. “They work according to the scheme: I feed your groups here, and in China let someone give this money to my sister,” says Victoria Bargacheva, head of the St. Petersburg Association of Chinese Language Guides and Interpreters. “It turns out cheaply, sometimes about 30 yuan per person for lunch (about 250 rubles).” It happens that a group of 50 people is issued a check for 500 rubles, or even just something like an expense order. How this affects tax revenues to the budget is a rhetorical question.
Experts say it's all about traditional Chinese tastes. “One time they can try something out of curiosity, go in a huge crowd to a restaurant on Nevsky Prospekt, order a steak for each,” says Leonid Garbar, head of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers in the Northwest. - But we are talking more about those who came from Hong Kong, Shanghai, that is, cities open to Europe, and not from a million-plus village. The rest will initially choose Chinese food and Chinese restaurants, especially if there are agreements with them in advance.” At the same time, according to Leonid Garbar, in general, the tourist flow from the Celestial Empire does not have an impact on the urban restaurant landscape, and the expert does not notice the Sinicization of the market.
According to Bargacheva, often at restaurants they keep a semblance of exchange offices, where they exchange yuan for rubles. The emergence of Internet banking and the development of mobile applications have made this service less popular. However, at one time, participants in the tourism market recall, in the restaurant near the Lion's Bridge, the tour leaders, as if in a cell, kept funds, not wanting to often carry cash across the border.
Opaque amber
Even more indicative is the situation with souvenir shops. The host country, as a rule, again, the Chinese, create among tourists something like a cult of amber products. At least some of the jewelry comes to Russia from the same China: raw materials are purchased in Ukraine and Kaliningrad, processed in the Celestial Empire, and then transported to St. Petersburg, where they are sold at a crazy extra charge.
The most notable specialized store is located at Obvodny, 108. The owner is the owner of one of the largest tour operators in China "Efensin" Han Te. The defense against strangers is kept here no weaker than on the Great Wall in the film of the same name with Matt Damon. The correspondent of Fontanka was refused, under the pretext that the store is currently operating in the corporate service mode. During a short conversation with a security guard, three custom-made tourist buses with guests from China accumulated at the store.
It turned out no better with the Skazka souvenir shop on Aptekarskaya Embankment (owner Zhang Yu). Again, an unproductive dialogue took place with the security guard, who was clearly not ready for the appearance of a lone buyer. The correspondent was told that there was a stock count in the empty store, although it was difficult to notice this in the general atmosphere of the siesta in the hall. In addition, the security guard asked a question, quite strange for retail: “Who told you about our store?”. The economic theory is dry, and, apparently, for the "Fairy Tale" it is by no means advertising that is the engine of trade.
The daily turnover of large souvenir outlets in St. Petersburg, owned by the Chinese, can exceed 20 million rubles. At the same time, in the official reporting there are figures of several thousand, and in Smolny they know that cash receipts are not knocked out in stores.
In addition, the same scheme is used as in restaurants: even in China, tourists leave a certain amount in the form of a kind of deposit, and in Russia they may no longer think about paying for goods. Falling budget revenues are difficult to estimate accurately. The profile committee estimated that the average tourist leaves 40 dollars a day for souvenirs. Considering that the Chinese spend at least two nights in St. Petersburg, $18 million a year accumulates - more than a billion rubles, which, in fact, have not left China. Approximately this amount may escape the attention of the tax authorities. And this is without taking into account restaurants and expenses for.
Other Chinese shops - in the interval from the "Tsar's Palace" to "Tsar's Amber" were found on Blagodatnaya, Orlovskaya and Michurinskaya streets.
Approximately 150 thousand people out of 225 thousand arrived from the capital to St. Petersburg. With the arrival in the city of Petra through Belokamennaya, their solvency is already falling, and on the spot it turns out that, again, Chinese restaurants and merchants earn on tourists. However, according to the general manager and owner of the Helvetia Hotel, Yunis Teymurkhanly, hostels that accommodate visitors and premium stores also benefit. “A mass tourist from China is a “shuttle trader,” the expert says. - He comes to buy everything, on which he can then earn money. Not without reason in DLT all price tags are duplicated in Chinese.
Labor exchange
There is another interesting observation related to Chinese restaurants and shops in St. Petersburg - their activity in the recruiting market. She can either speak of gray schemes of labor migration, or the true extent of the expansion of the inner Chinese empire in the city. LLC "Avinant" Zhou Jingfang (restaurant "Compass") on the website of the city employment center is looking for 24 employees, including 13 chefs. Three Chinese companies registered at Galernaya 28 are recruiting 40 people. Hu Liqiang's Avrora LLC (Tang Zhao Restaurant at 1 Izmailovsky Street) has become even more roaming, which needs 52 employees (38 cooks). In Aurora itself, they explained their appetites by the expansion launched this year - in addition to Tang Zhao, they have a restaurant in the Gallery shopping mall, and another one is being built in Peterhof.
In theory, the following scheme is seen. Vacancies are opened with not the most favorable conditions (19-20 thousand rubles for each of these positions). If the Russians do not fill these vacancies, there is a basis for applying for quotas for Chinese employees. In the future, these permits can be disposed of depending on the true plans of the company: to transport acquaintances, to sell, and the like. The Committee on Labor and Employment emphasizes that the vacancy must remain unclaimed by Russians for 30 days in order for the employer to have grounds for applying. After that, an analysis is carried out, and in case of a positive conclusion, officials issue permission to attract foreigners. Quotas for migrants from China, as they say in Smolny, are not selected, and they themselves are being reduced - from 2,676 people last year to 1,460 in 2017. “The largest number of employees in 2016 was involved in the catering sector: a chef, a cook, a manager in catering and hotel services,” the committee says.
Limitless Monopoly
According to an agreement between Russia and China, tourists can enter for 15 days on visa-free lists in the amount of 5 to 50 people (Rostourism proposes to allow this for groups of 3 people). Under the agreement, a specialized information system (SIS) was created, which grew out of a data exchange system between insurance companies (and still performs this function). Initially, it was developed and maintained by SK World Without Borders LLC (now EIK MBG). In March 2016, Rostourism signed a service contract for 1.7 million rubles with another company, MVK Service LLC. Until the fall of 2016, Tatyana Vvedenskaya, the wife of the ex-deputy head of Rostourism Ivan Vvedensky, was listed as the founder. He is also the deputy head of the non-profit partnership "World Without Borders" of the same name with the developer. Judging by SPARK, the director of the NP was also Irina Yartseva, who held the position of head of the manager of Rostourism.
Chairman of the Board of the Association for the Promotion of Russian-Chinese Tourism Yuri Tsurkan argues that for many years the segment of receiving Chinese tourists has been practically monopolized, and even now newcomers are strongly recommended to join the NP if they want to get into the SIS and capitalize on the growing tourist flow. It is the partnership that has developed which is now being implemented at the state level, and also supports the introduction of a new specialty of an escort for Chinese groups. Fontanka's interlocutors from among the members of the NP link Tsurkan's claims with an attempt to take as much market share as possible.
“Our task is to avoid any associations,” says Andrey Mushkarev, head of the St. Petersburg tourism committee. - No one is obliged to work through them, as well as to get into a specialized information system, this is simply not spelled out in any regulatory document. Now we are launching the process through our city tourist center, where it will be possible to draw up lists for receiving tourists, we will declare them.”
In total, according to the Federal Tourism Agency, in 2016 almost 1.3 million guests from China came to Russia, their number increased by 15%. Alexander Maklyarovsky, head of the inbound tourism department at KMP, believes that only 15% of the Chinese tourist flow can be called transparent, the remaining 85% is in the shade. “A strictly defined circle of companies of Chinese origin work with them, withdrawing money back to China,” the expert says. - Tourists are sold quasi-cheap tours, but these packages do not include many things that you have to buy on the spot. As a result, they bring in more money than "expensive" tourists from Australia or Brazil, only not to the Russian state, but to those who provide this non-transparent system. It harms the professional community. In fact, there are systems on the market that are self-contained, let’s say, small peaceful mafias for now.”
Chinese tourists are an inevitable attribute of megacities, where there are at least a few world-class attractions. At the beginning of the 2000s, an agreement was concluded between Russia and China on a visa-free regime for short tours, which made Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other regions important destinations for Chinese travelers. Add to this the fall of the ruble in 2014, the cooling of relations with Europe and America, and the growth of China's prosperity - and you get the Hermitage in St. Petersburg packed with Chinese on weekdays and Red Square, where Chinese speech sounds louder than Russian.
Every year, Russian media write that the tourist activity of Asian countries is breaking records, that this year there are themed tours from China dedicated to 1917 and the October Revolution to the Russian economy, that Chinese buyers are making checkouts for luxury stores and participating in the resale of Yeezy sneakers. In general, optimism is justified: according to the statistics of the Federal Tourism Agency for 2016, more than 1 million Chinese visited Russia (Finland is in second place with the same 1 million). However, some experts believe that most of the money that the Chinese spend in Moscow remains in the shadow sector of the economy or returns to China, because it is mainly Chinese businessmen who serve Chinese tourists in Russia.
Who comes to Moscow?
Anna Sibirkina
Deputy Director of the World Without Borders Tourism Association, Head of the China Friendly Program
“The Chinese are the most traveled nation in the world largely because they are the most numerous. But there are also many cultural factors: domestic tourism is very popular in China, people regularly travel to other provinces. The fact that among them a large number of pensioners is also due to cultural characteristics. For a long time in China there was a law “One family - one child”, so parents tried to invest in their children as much as possible, educate them and give them everything: an apartment, a car and education. After the children grew up, they traditionally began to take care of their parents.
Mass tourism to Russia from China appeared in the early 2000s, when an agreement was signed on visa-free travel, which is why most tourists come in groups. The Russian destination is popular due to its geographical proximity, low prices and good relations between the two countries.”
Victoria Levitskaya
Orientalist, translator from Chinese
“Most Chinese are very poor and cannot afford to go abroad. The stratum of the middle class and very wealthy people in China is very small. The very rich come on their own, hire translators, guides and go in small companies. Tourists of the middle class often travel by bus - you can see their crowds on Red Square with cameras.
Anna Stepanova
Guide - interpreter from Chinese
“Russia has become a popular destination because with the fall of the ruble, it has become cheap here. The Chinese are attracted by mystery: Moscow is far and unusual for them, so if they have a lot of time in retirement, then why not go here. Chinese tourists are also different. Some go to look at the communist legacy, they admire Putin and think that Russia and China are friends. There are those who buy luxury tours, or just businessmen who have already been everywhere and now come to Russia.”
How are Chinese tourists different from the rest?
Sibirkin:“If we talk about tourist groups, they are maximally geared towards All Inclusive. They always have a guide with them. Chinese citizens do not always know the history of other countries, Red Square for them is a place that is associated only with Lenin and Stalin. They have trouble with other details.
The key point is food. At 12 o'clock, almost all of China goes to dinner en masse: food is exclusively on schedule, the cult of food and catering reigns there. Many guides have a saying: "A Chinese group has arrived - there will be a drought." You have probably seen that many Chinese people walk around with bottles of water or thermoses: they constantly drink water and teas. This is due to traditional medicine: they believe that warm water promotes all physiological processes.
But due to the fact that the level of culture and education among Chinese tourists is very different, there are oddities - some cook noodles in teapots. They have a completely different attitude towards cleanliness and dirt: when they eat, they can throw garbage from the table to the floor, because it is convenient. It is also important to know that the Chinese are quite disciplined and if you point them to some things, they will obey.”
Irina Grishina
Sinologist guide
“Unlike European tourists, they strongly respect the USSR and the country's communist past. This is largely due to the fact that the Soviet Union helped China. They consider us a friendly people. The key difference from all other tourists is the constant presence with a guide. If European tourists can buy one or two excursions for the whole trip, then the Chinese are always on excursions.”
2 out of 13 3 out of 13 4 out of 13 5 out of 13 6 out of 13 7 out of 13 8 out of 13 9 out of 13 10 out of 13 11 out of 13 12 out of 13 13 out of 13Daria Zhdanova
MSPU student, sinologist, works as a guide
“In autumn, I was a guide for tourists from Taiwan - and they saw the first snow. It is clear that in Moscow it’s not God knows what, just a small croup is falling. But they were simply amazed, later they told how cool it was. True, when a real snowstorm began a few days later and Moscow fell asleep, they were disappointed in the snow.
Sibirkin:“They go to Moscow for what they once heard about: Red Square, Lenin, the Mausoleum. They are very happy about the opportunity to attend Russian ballet - they have a reverent attitude towards Russian culture and music. They love the metro, visit the Novodevichy cemetery, watch all the big buildings. They know "Bunker 42" on Taganka, and they are very interested in all excursions dedicated to the Soviet period. But you can’t drag them to museums of modern art or some newfangled shows, because Chinese tourists are terribly conservative.”
Stepanova: “Tourists have different groups and routes. For example, there is "Red China" - these are tours to places of the Soviet past. They go to the Mausoleum, go to Lenin's homeland, and on Red Square they go to the cemetery where political figures are buried. We also take you on a sightseeing tour: it is always Moscow State University, Victory Square, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Kutuzovsky Prospekt. Few people go to the Tretyakov Gallery, this year, for example, there has never been a group there. In the Pushkin Museum - more often. Therefore, the main museum is the Kremlin, and the Armory is there.
Most of all, tourists are surprised by the structure of the city: a lot of traffic jams, wide roads and the absence of mopeds and motorcycles. Many people like monumentalism, Stalin's Tverskaya and skyscrapers. They are pleasantly surprised by the friendly Russians - before the trip, they think that very gloomy people live here.”
Where else do tourists go?
Souvenir shop "Heritage" in GUM
1 of 5Souvenir shop "Zhostovo" in GUM
2 out of 5Banquet hall in "Bunker 42"
© Bunker 42
3 out of 5Restaurant "Three Wise Men" - a frequent stopover for groups of Chinese tourists
© wikimapia.org/Moscowich
4 out of 5Shop "Russian Souvenirs" on the Arbat
5 out of 5About illegal guides
Grishina: “Now there is a problem with illegal guides who tell all sorts of pearls about them. The difference between us and professionals is that we tell about the history of the country, and they sell amber and gold. But this problem is obviously not very important to our government, because no matter how much we talk about it, nothing changes. What needs to be done? It is necessary that only a citizen of the Russian Federation who has a license can work as a guide. And it is also important that the law not only exists, but is also enforced. Because now, for example, many Chinese guides work in the Kremlin through translation: they hire a guide with an unclaimed language, for example, Latvian, and go with him, and then the Chinese guide somehow translates everything to the group.”
What are they photographing?
Zhdanov:“I took a small group of Chinese students around Moscow: VDNKh, Victory Park, Park of Culture and Muzeon with Bryusov still standing there. Also were in the Tretyakov Gallery and Pushkin. They did not like museums - they liked walking around the city more. Red Square was especially fond of - there they arranged a photo shoot for 30 minutes. They were also very surprised by the Moscow metro, in which they took pictures literally at every meter. We went out with them only at the most beautiful stations, although they were ready to watch literally everything.
Chinese tourists take pictures of all the monuments they see along the way. Sometimes cafes and foreigners are also filmed - especially if they are standing in a crowd. It is difficult for me to talk about tourists in general, but the students with whom I went were not very interested in the history of places: for them, the main thing was just to take a photo. Probably in order to later post it on social networks.
Sibirkin:“The citizens of China are very connected - they have a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and photography is an opportunity to share and show off. Chinese social networks also play a big role - they have huge communities in which they instantly post photos. We took a selfie against the backdrop of the Nikulin Circus - and immediately posted it on WeChat. They love to shoot anything that is different from China. For example, white fair children - they constantly arrange photo shoots with my child, literally passing from hand to hand. In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, after the influx of tourists from Asia, a rule was introduced prohibiting taking selfies with icons: they do not have such an attitude to holiness as we do. At the entrance to the territory of the Lavra, I need to specifically stipulate to them that it is forbidden to spit, litter, smoke and take selfies with icons here.”
What do they eat in Moscow?
Levitskaya:“We went to China News, they praised their cuisine, but they lack pepper, spices and glutamate. They don't understand borscht - there's no noodles there! In the evening they sat in the “Country that does not exist”, and they liked vodka; beer and wine - for them it is small, not held in high esteem. Vodka, nesting dolls, furs, jewelry, large-scale architecture and spiritual heritage - this is how you can describe the interests of the Chinese in Moscow.”
They don't understand borscht - there's no noodles there!
Stanislav Lisichenko
Owner of Chinese News restaurant chain
“The Chinese can only eat their own food, they do not perceive anything else at the physiological level - they simply feel sick from meat and potatoes. In Moscow, they eat in specialized Chinese restaurants - and even in serious hotels, for example, in the Azimut chain, Chinese breakfasts and lunches appear. Some enterprising travel agency owners open eateries that cater exclusively to Chinese tourists, such as the Fuda restaurant in MDM. Tourists also go to China News and always order strictly defined items: beef noodles, tofu cheese, steamed dumplings, fried pork noodles and smashed cucumbers.
In 2015-2016, the number of Chinese tourists coming to our country has sharply increased. Against the backdrop of the collapse of the ruble and the rising standard of living in China, one would expect the tourism boom to have a positive impact on the Russian economy. However, the facts and assessments of experts who know the situation from the inside show that without active state intervention in this area, most of the income from receiving Chinese travelers will be sent back to China. Lenta.ru correspondent Yan Shansky dealt with the details.
The year has not yet ended, but it is already clear that the volume of Chinese inbound tourism to our country will break another record.
How many there really are, as in the case of Chinese migrants, no one can say for sure. The statistics of the Federal Migration Service, Rostourism, Rosstat and industry organizations vary, but even without clear figures it is clear that there are much more of them. It is believed that in 2015 the number of Chinese coming to us has doubled. Relatively reliable data from the World Without Borders Association, which takes into account the number of tourists who come in groups: in the first half of 2016 alone, they counted 230,000 people - 47 percent more than a year earlier. For comparison: in the pre-crisis 2010, the total number of tourists for the year was much less - only 158 thousand people.
The potential of this tourist flow is huge. The population of China is large, the solvency of visiting Chinese, taking into account Russian prices, is beyond doubt. However, professionals involved in receiving tourists from China are far from optimistic. This is primarily due to the unpreparedness of our market: first of all, the state of the hospitality infrastructure and the lack of relevant legislation. The existing trends are such that the main income from servicing Chinese tourists in Russia is in the hands of Chinese business, and the positive effect for the Russian economy is very limited.
Who arrives and how
There is a certain regional specialization among Chinese tourists. Residents of the border provinces, as a rule, go to the neighboring regions of Russia: Primorye, Amur, Transbaikalia. Most often these are two-three-day shopping tours. How “attractive” our border area is for Chinese tourists can be evidenced by the following fact: out of 5.5 million Chinese tourists who visited the border city of Manchuria in 2015, playing the “card of Russian exoticism” for their compatriots (in the middle of the steppe they even built a copy of the cathedral Basil's and the world's largest nesting doll), only 0.51 percent of travelers crossed the border to visit the Trans-Baikal Territory.
Guests from the central and southern regions of China travel mainly to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Both cities are visited as part of one group tour, designed for seven to nine days. It is group tourism that is the basis of the market. This is explained by the fact that only as part of a tourist group you can enter Russia without a visa, and the fact that the Chinese are simply afraid to travel to our country on their own and without an interpreter. In addition, Russia has secured the image of a country for the poor middle class, who are more fun and somehow more accustomed to traveling in a group. Of course, there are also individual VIP tourists and hipsters traveling with a guidebook, but in the general mass they can be neglected.
The tour program is standard and corresponds to the tastes and ideas of Chinese tourists. In St. Petersburg, the “highlight of the program” is the Hermitage, and the Chinese appreciate it not for its collection of art, but for its palace interiors. In Moscow, the Kremlin.
Attempts by guides to drag the Chinese, for example, to the Tretyakov Gallery, as a rule, are unsuccessful: the Chinese simply do not understand what to see there.
The "Golden Ring", the tourist potential of which the regional authorities like to talk about, also does not have any special prospects. Without special knowledge of the history and art of ancient Rus', numerous temples and monasteries seem to the Chinese to be exactly the same and, honestly, not very interesting.
Numerous temples and monasteries seem exactly the same to the Chinese
All work on sending and receiving tourists is carried out by Chinese travel agencies. It is they who sell vouchers in China, they are also engaged in resettlement, selection of food and transport places. All work on the ground falls on representatives of Chinese travel agencies living in Russia, often without any official status. In Moscow, Chinese citizens work as guides, sometimes they do not even speak Russian. In St. Petersburg, the Chinese are forced to hire Russian translators licensed to work in the Hermitage, but this is rather a happy exception. Everywhere in the regions, Chinese travel agencies and guides collect almost the entire "harvest" from the tour group.
Russian travel agencies in this scheme are needed only to issue invitations, without which visa-free entry of the group is impossible. In fact, they withdrew from serving the Chinese tourist flow. Realizing the futility of competition with Chinese tour operators in the mass segment, some Russian firms are trying to develop a "piece" VIP segment.
Where and how tourists spend money
Most of the spending on a trip to Russia to a Chinese tourist is still in China. When buying a ticket, the travel, accommodation and meals are paid immediately, and practically at cost. The average cost of a tour for 7-9 days is 5-8 thousand yuan (50-80 thousand rubles now, 25-40 thousand rubles at the "pre-crisis" rate). A travel agency can afford such dumping, since it receives the main income from a tourist during a trip.
As a rule, food and accommodation is carried out in the budget segment. For example, in St. Petersburg already this year, Russian tourists faced the problem of a shortage of economy class hotels, since it was in them, and not in five-star hotels, that Chinese groups lived. Reservations are made a year in advance, which allows you to get big discounts, especially since almost all restaurants and some hotels, even those registered to Russian legal entities, actually belong to Chinese capital.
It is almost impossible for a person from the street to get into specialized stores for Chinese tourists
A tourist travels to Russia without cash. For China, where even bank cards are already an anachronism, and most purchases are made using QR codes on the popular social network We Chat, carrying yuan or currency with you seems something unimaginable.
As a result, almost all purchases are made with cards. All specialized stores where Chinese groups are taken are equipped with Unionpay payment system pos-terminals.
These stores are registered legally, but it is impossible to get there from the outside. The guard at the entrance will politely ask you to leave, citing a technical break or special service. The main source of income is the sale of jewelry. The markup on gold items in such stores is up to a thousand percent. The most profitable business is the sale of fake amber. There is no amber in China, so there is no one to understand it. A piece of plastic given by a guide as amber can cost up to 200,000 rubles. Such purchases are still rare: mostly simple handicrafts made from "amber" and inexpensive gold jewelry - pendants, chains, rings are in demand. Often several copies of the same product are bought. This is explained very simply: a tourist does not buy for himself, but for gifts (wife, mistress, relatives, work colleagues). Articles made of precious metals and precious stones are not interesting for Chinese tourists.
The revenue of such stores is up to 4-5 million rubles a day. They are not afraid of outside competition, since all the movements of Chinese tourist groups are controlled by the operator, and the chances that a tourist will buy something outside of these stores are minimal. Needless to say, all of them are somehow controlled by Chinese business. It is impossible to get into this sphere without being associated with him or having no partnership relations, no matter how good a store with whatever prices you open. Guides simply will not take tourists there.
The income from these specialized shops is the main interest of Chinese travel agencies. They take 30 percent of the profits from the amount spent by the groups they set. Another 30 percent is taken directly by the Chinese guide. The remaining amount, minus the cost of renting the premises, housing and communal services, salaries for Russian sellers and payments to various partners, remains with the Chinese businessman who controls the store.
What is not customary to talk about
One of the main problems that the Russian administration of the store for Chinese tourists faces is the constant shortage of cash. As already mentioned, tourists pay with cards, and “kickbacks” every day the travel agency and the guide need to pay in cash. From January 1, 2017, Russian banks, under the pretext of combating the financing of terrorism, will be able to block cash-out operations. One expert believes that this will force the business to go even deeper into the shadows. Shops will be forced to illegally install terminals of Chinese banks or cash out profits in the so-called "people's banks" in Chinese markets (for example, in Moscow it is "Gardener"). The representative of this “bank”, having received a notification about the transfer of money to his account in China, will give the client the required amount in rubles. In this case, the most profitable transactions related to servicing Chinese tourists will finally get out of the control of Russian authorities.
Tourists are served by representatives of Chinese travel agencies that do not have any status in Russia
Another source of significant income is the underground gambling business. The only legal casino targeting Chinese tourists operates near Vladivostok and is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Lawrence Ho. The results of the first year of the casino's operation should be considered successful: there are visitors from among the Chinese, and they bring income. However, it is generally accepted that the profits of the underground gambling business in Russian capitals are much higher. This business is initially criminal, and Chinese travel agencies prefer not to get into it. Therefore, it is the shadow business that has the most profit from Chinese tourists in Russia: casinos, striptease, underground brothels.
Chinese intermediaries receive a small income from the tourist in the form of a "kickback", but most of the profits remain in the hands of Russian owners of establishments. According to reports from the field, the rates for Chinese tourists are standard.
The Chinese client is disciplined and hassle-free, but not generous. Walking until morning with gypsies and bears is not about the tight-fisted Chinese middle class.
By the way, drinking establishments did not notice the tourist boom at all. Firstly, the Chinese are afraid to walk in them because of security problems. Secondly, they do not understand the format of Western bars at all. The familiar K-TV (karaoke in separate booths) and consummations are already appearing, but they are initially controlled by Chinese business or its Russian partners. For example, in Vladivostok, a bar "Pujing" ("Putin Bar") appeared. Formally, other hieroglyphs are used in its name, but the portraits of the national leader hung throughout the institution against the backdrop of birch trees and beauties in kokoshniks are very eloquent.
Chinese tourist, having visited the Kremlin, the Hermitage and striptease, considers his mission completed
The average Chinese tourist, having visited the Kremlin, the Hermitage and striptease, having bought a set of gold chains and fake amber, considers his mission completed. A psychologically important barrier is the amount of 10 thousand yuan, in which tourists try to fit their entire trip (including the price of a tour). Since most of the money is spent in specialty stores, there is very little left for random purchases in the city (for example, souvenirs from stalls or chocolates in supermarkets), a trifle that the bigwigs of this business can afford not to notice.
What will happen and what should we do
Now Russian companies earn only on tickets, giving the main added value to the Chinese. Of course, we receive new jobs, taxes from the activities of legal hotels, restaurants and shops, orders for the production of jewelry and souvenirs. There is also a multiplier effect, since the same employees of Chinese companies, living in Russia, spend their salaries here. However, the Russian side does not control the service of the tourist flow and is practically deprived of the opportunity to influence it.
The dynamics of the processes in the market is such that Chinese business is seizing more and more resources, including using the classic schemes of raider seizures with the involvement of Russian organized crime groups and corrupt officials. Often, the Chinese negotiate with a Russian partner who builds an enterprise (for example, the same store) from scratch, after which he is “thrown” or ruined by opening the same store in the neighborhood and letting the entire flow of tourists go there.
The situation will not change without industry regulation. Organizational chaos is beneficial only to Chinese travel agencies and those who can extract some rent from colluding with them.
In order to streamline this chaos, a law regulating the reception of foreign tourists is needed.
In particular, it should contain a rule that only Russian citizens can work as guides. It is highly desirable to create a mechanism that allows them to be independent from the Chinese tour operator - this will increase the share of income from the reception of Chinese tourists remaining in our country. And this applies only to the economic aspect, although there is another equally important cultural aspect that deserves special attention.
Organizational chaos only benefits Chinese travel companies and those who can benefit from colluding with them
In the end, we need the liberalization of economic laws and support for small and medium-sized businesses, which would make it possible to create our own hospitality infrastructure independent of Chinese capital, which could become an alternative to foreign tourist flow.
The “Sinification” of space, which is being very successfully carried out in St. Petersburg, and the enhanced training of guide-interpreters are certainly correct and important measures, but, unfortunately, they are practically not supplemented by the promotion of tourism brands and the image of Russia in China itself. The current tourist boom was not the result of deliberate actions by the Russian authorities, but of favorable market conditions. If the state of affairs continues to be so, there is a real danger that the benefits that the current tourist boom promises to Russia will pass by.
The travel service Tutu.ru decided to help guests from China get comfortable in Russia and prepared a special memo. These are eight tips to help a Chinese tourist fit into our society, understand another culture and avoid embarrassing situations. To develop the memo, the experience of guides working in China and Russia with Chinese groups, as well as Russian expats in China, was used.
It was created to help not only Chinese tourists, but also Russian restaurateurs and hoteliers. It can be downloaded for free for any use, such as hanging in your hotel, shop, booklet or book. She is available.
In particular, visitors from China were advised not to touch people in public places, to speak loudly, and to ask permission before photographing strangers. And when eating, for example, in Russia it is not customary to bare the stomach or slurp.
Given that Russia has been included in the list of the most popular destinations for tourists from China (according to the Chinese travel agency Ctrip), such a memo will really help both the Chinese and Russians avoid embarrassment and unpleasant situations.
The executive director of the World Without Borders Association, Alexander Agamov, found the initiative very useful. In China itself, he said, the problem is very well understood. “However, we should not forget that from a tourist point of view, this is a very young nation,” he added, suggesting that we remember ourselves in the 90s. What kind of eccentricities did we not commit, escaping to Turkish beaches! “The same thing is happening with the Chinese,” Mr. Agamov explained. - Even 15 years ago, there was no talk at all about any trips abroad. They didn't even have passports. Even in 2017, 18-20% of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire who came to Russia did not see their capital, Beijing.”
Today, almost 140 million Chinese travel the world, so the Chinese leadership and local tourism authorities are actively promoting the rules of conduct in countries with different cultures and traditions among their fellow citizens - they issue manuals, they make films. Part of this program was, in particular, a video clip, which, as Mr. Agamov said, about a year and a half ago was shown by the Chinese Embassy in Russia. It was prepared by them especially for their compatriots who are going to visit us, it was planned to be shown on the boards of the Air China airline. According to Alexander Agamov, the video was good, appealing to the typical mistakes that Chinese tourists make, not knowing our customs and traditions.
One of them is loud conversations in the corridors and running from room to room while checking into a hotel. “But you need to understand,” Mr. Agamov warned, “that this is not a manifestation of their lack of culture, but just part of Chinese culture. It is impossible to present the excesses that occur from time to time as rejection or, even more so, contempt for our traditions and historical monuments.”
Alexander Agamov shared his experience of the right approach in delicate situations with Chinese tourists. “They are very organized people. The tour leader goes with them for a reason. This man, whom they, let us say so, obey. If the tour leader tells them that it is possible to do something, but not in any case, they will clearly follow the instructions. It is necessary to work with tour leaders, then there will be no problems,” summed up Alexander Agamov.
Lyubov Bulgakov, RATA- news
