CEO of the world's second largest online travel agency by market capitalization Ctrip, based in China, praised the increase in Russia-China tourism this year and said her company intended to launch a Russian-language website in an interview with Sputnik on the BRICS summit sidelines.

XIAMEN (China) (Sputnik) — Jane Sun said that the number of tourists from China to Russia increased significantly in 2017, with 1.5 million people visiting the country. Ctrip has enjoyed an over 50-percent year growth in tourist flow this year compared to the same period of 2016.

"The Russian government was very smart in lifting visa restrictions for Chinese citizens. These people have lots of money, they want to spend it in Russia, it creates job opportunities. So I am very positive about travel between Russia and China," Sun said.

​Now that Ctrip has bought the Skyscanner travel company, famous for its online ticket reservation services, the travel agency wants to create a Russian-language website, she added.

The Ctrip CEO also said that the international tourism can contribute to peace in the world, because "the more people travel around the world, the more understanding they develop."

Executive Director of Russia's Tourist Association Mir Bez Granits (World Without Borders) Alexander Agamov said in June that both Moscow and Beijing should aim to increase the number of tourists to 4 million per year from China to Russia and vice versa. According to Agamov, one million Chinese tourists visited Russia in 2016 and 1.7 million Russian tourists traveled to China.