The number of Chinese tourists to Russia has jumped dramatically as the country has become a cheaper tourism destination due to the weakening of the ruble against other major currencies, a Chinese travel ticketing agency said Thursday.

The number of orders of outbound travel to Russia for Chinese tourists grew by 113 percent in December compared with that in November, Suzhou-based Tongcheng Network Technology Share Co, which operates ly.com, a tourism and ticket service provider, said in a statement e-mailed to the Global Times Thursday.

The Moscow-Saint Petersburg route for five nights and seven days costs only 5,699 yuan ($911) per person, at least 3,000 yuan lower compared with the price about half a year ago, Tongcheng said in the statement.

An average tourist's daily bill, covering living expenses, food and sightseeing, would cost 4,000 to 5,000 rubles ($75 to $95), compared to the cost of accommodation in a hotel in Paris or Barcelona which reaches about 70 to 80 euros ($85-$100) a day, Russian multimedia group Sputnik reported on December 10, quoting data provided by Russia's Association of Tour Operators.

The ruble has depreciated by roughly 50 percent this year, making Russia an appealing destination for global tourists. The ruble plummeted to historic lows recently, with the yuan hitting 9.9979 rubles in trade Thursday.

Apple sales clerks in one of Moscow's Atrium shopping malls were quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying earlier Wednesday that they "don't have the (iPhone) 64 GB in stock. All [have been] sold out."

Later on Wednesday, iPhone dealers hiked their prices amid the ruble's slump.

For instance, an iPhone 6 Plus with 16 GB storage costs 67,990 rubles, 21,000 rubles higher than on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.