Cross-Border Tourism on the Russian-Chinese Border in 2014−2019
https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621030109
Abstract
The article examines the dynamics of cross-border tourism and developments in the tourism industry in the Russian-Chinese borderland after 2014. Using Blagoveshchensk and Heihe and Khabarovsk and Fuyuan as case studies, the article shows that due to the change in tourist flow structure after the 2014-ruble depreciation, Russian and Chinese border cities have customized their service industry to accommodate Chinese tourists. Mapping of the service sector openness of border cities conducted based on fieldwork data and media materials demonstrates that central districts of border towns concentrate the majority of businesses catering to clients from the neighboring state. This conclusion confirms the role of central districts of border towns as thermometers of cross-border dynamics as they react first to fluctuations in exchange rates and tourist flows. The article provides an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cross-border flows and the tourism industry in the Russian-Chinese borderland and concludes that the earlier reorientation towards domestic tourists allowed Heihe and Fuyuan to be better prepared for a new external shock. The tourism industry in Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk, on the contrary, suffered significant losses and found itself in a situation of high uncertainty, where it is hardly possible to predict when Chinese tourists will return.
Keywords
cross-border tourism,
Russian-Chinese border,
Russian Far East,
North-Eastern China,
service sector customization,
border towns,
currency fluctuations,
ruble depreciation,
Chinese tourists
Supporting agencies: The author is grateful to Dr. I.G. Chubarov, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and to K.V. Mironenko, Research Fellow at the Department of Geography of World Economy, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, for their help with the Chinese-language materials.
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For citations:
Mikhailova E.V. Cross-Border Tourism on the Russian-Chinese Border in 2014−2019. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2021;85(3):341-354. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621030109
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