OREANDA-NEWS. From today, Russian tour operators are stopping the reception of new organized tourist groups from China because of the coronavirus epidemic in this country. This is stated in the message of the Russian Union of Travel Industry.

Chinese authorities have imposed restrictions on sending travel groups abroad as a measure to prevent the spread of a new type of coronavirus. Monday, January 27, was the last day of the reception of organized groups of Chinese tourists in Russia, but the stop of entry will occur only today, the Office explained. The Chinese authorities didn't give a centralized instruction to ban travel, but lowered it to the regions so that local authorities in the provinces make the appropriate decisions to stop the departure of Chinese people.

The ban on travel groups from China due to an epidemic could lead to a 70-80% reduction in tourist flows from China to Russia in the first quarter of 2020, Agamov said on the eve of the Russian media. In January - March 2019, 130 thousand Chinese tourists visited Russia, this year the growth of tourist flow was expected, he said.