At a meeting with Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov suggested preparing a list of regions to launch direct flights from China. It includes Kamchatka, Altai, Tyumen and the Russian North — destinations that are not yet covered by direct flights, despite the availability of ready-made tourist infrastructure.
In the first quarter of 2026, the mutual tourist flow between the countries doubled to 825,000 people, which was facilitated by the visa—free regime and a trusting dialogue between the agencies. It also became known about the development of the Great Tea Way tourist route: China will present its vision of the geography and brand of the route, and the business will form a technical passport of the product — uniform criteria for tour operators and regions.
The meeting of the heads of the tourist administrations of Russia, China and Mongolia was attended by new participants — the Mongolian aimags of Tuv and Darkhan-Uul. The parties agreed to exchange comments on the memorandum on the implementation of the route and to start creating a unified map of the "Great Tea Way" indicating the tourist sites of the three countries. The expansion of the alliance strengthens the practical base for cross-border travel, the MAYOR noted.
