The regional government as a whole, the management of resort cities, and hoteliers are all interested in Russian tourists, which, however, is not always reflected in the prices offered by hotels. Earlier, the Hainan Province Tourism Development Committee reported that by the end of the year, Local resorts can host up to 300 thousand Russians.
Betting on the Russians
According to representatives of the tourism industry, the Chinese side’s interest in increasing the tourist flow from Russia is expressed in financial and informational support from the local government.
“The government offers various support, helps tour operators, carriers. They are interested in this, they want to see tourists from Russia here. And the hotels themselves are starting to offer services for Russian tourists, so that they can relax comfortably, they translate signs and pointers into Russian, we even participated in this ourselves when we communicated with hotels. Much is being done to make it easier for Russians to navigate. The Russian language is not very good here yet, but many are already inviting Russian-speaking staff,” said Tatyana Chizhova, head of the Spain, Mexico, China directions at the Anex Tour tour operator.
The administrative center of Hainan Province is the city of Haikou, and the most popular resort is Sanya. The resort authorities also declare their readiness to receive foreign tourists, and especially Russians.
"Sanya is always open to Russian tourists, in recent years we have been attracting more and more guests. We are building more and more hotels, including world-class ones. Sanya plans to become an international tourist resort, and we hope that we will strengthen cooperation with Russia and increase the tourist flow," said Deputy Chairman of the Sanya City Tourism Committee Zhen Zong Hui.
The director of the Lingshue Tourism Committee, Zhou Xiao Qing, also expressed readiness to support Russian tour operators working with Hainan.
Barriers
The problem for the development of the market can be considered a lack of information, noted the general director of Eden Travel Alena Hou. According to the managing director for Thailand, Vietnam and China at tour operator Anex Tour Ali Aydin Gunal, there is also a difference in cultures, but the main issue that needs to be addressed for the development of the direction remains language. To overcome language barriers, some hoteliers hire Russian-speaking staff and consult with Russian partners.
“It is important for local hoteliers that foreigners stay with them. Hainan is a popular destination for the domestic Chinese market as well. Hotels offer lower prices for us. But we also need to consider another factor: Chinese tourists come for two or three nights, they do not stay in one place for long. Russians come for 10-11 nights on average. It turns out that our tourists end up paying more, and therefore they are more interesting from an economic point of view,” A. Gyunal explained.
Thomas Sun, general manager of the Westin Hainan, said that Russian language classes are held for employees twice a week. According to him, about 20% of the hotel's 350 rooms are allocated for the Russian market.
“Chinese tourists stay with us for two to three days on average, and we plan to increase the length of stay at the hotel, mainly thanks to guests from Russia who stay for at least a week,” he said.
Security issues are also being addressed on the island. Not long ago, a tourist police force appeared on Hainan. This is a unit based on the regular police force, whose duties include ensuring the safety of tourists and the security of their property during their stay at the resort. According to A. Hou, the staff already includes Russian- and English-speaking employees.
Intentions and prices
On the Russian market, Hainan is presented not only as a beach holiday destination, but also as a destination for medical and exotic excursion tourism.
"The average bill depends on the season and the hotel category. In the summer, of course, it is cheaper to vacation here, now the average price for a week per person is about $600 with a flight and breakfasts. In winter, it is a high season for the domestic market, including, and therefore the prices are higher," said T. Chizhova.
According to her, Russians usually choose four- or five-star hotels. The all-inclusive system, which is familiar to tourists from the Russian Federation, is poorly represented. “Local hoteliers are not very interested in this yet, and perhaps they do not yet understand what it is and what it is for. But we are working on it, and hotels, of course, offer full board,” she specified.
After the local government launched the support program, the number of flights to Hainan has increased. Currently, there are about 20 flights per week from Russian cities to the island, and from October, their number may increase to 30.
As A. Günal explained, due to the significant increase in demand last season, hotels are raising prices for both domestic tourists and foreigners.
“Last year, not only did many Russians come to Hainan in winter, but at the same time Thailand was closed to Chinese tourists, and they all came to Sanya. Hoteliers did not expect this, they look at last year’s figures, and now we are receiving prices from hotels that are about 20% higher. So prices may go up in winter, but that is wrong. Firstly, Thailand is open to Chinese tourists this year. And for the Russian market, if you want to increase the volume, you need to offer lower prices. Russians have been vacationing in different countries for 20 years and know how much a product should cost. They know what to expect from the service. Of course, this now largely depends on the Chinese market. But we are trying to convey our position and I hope that prices will not go up for our tourists,” he stressed.
According to the provincial tourism development committee, about 130 thousand Russian tourists visited Hainan from January to June.
Source: tourism.interfax.ru
