Chinese citizens traveling to Russia will soon be able to enter without a visa, which may divert tourists from Japan.

Given Russia's visa-free policy, industry experts believe that Russia will also surge to the top of the outbound travel rankings. Meanwhile, there has been a continuous decrease in interest in traveling to Japan in the past few days, leading some tourists to redirect their plans to other Southeast Asian countries while others are expected to choose Russia as their destination. "Southeast Asia has always been the region with the largest number of tourists in the outbound travel market. With setbacks in traveling to Japan and the upcoming peak travel season during New Year and Chinese New Year holidays, tourists who have canceled or altered their plans to Japan will definitely divert to other destinations. South Korea, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian destinations are the most likely alternatives. The implementation of Russia's visa-free policy will also attract a significant number of Chinese tourists. Therefore, the ranking of the outbound travel market will see real-time changes in the near future, and travel companies need to be prepared to adjust their business strategies," analyzed Zhao Huanyan, a senior travel industry analyst and senior economist.