Federal Media Overview

On 12 and 13 September, the 23rd General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organisation UNWTO was held in St. Petersburg. Vipservice Holding CEO Dmitry Gorin spoke at an event on changes to the work of the Turpomosch Association as part of the Tourism Development Strategy of the Ministry of Economic Development. In his opinion, the organisation should become more client-focused. In particular, it is planned to focus on two key aspects: the introduction of the new regulation of Turpomosch and interagency cooperation. “As for the new regulation, a new feature of regulatory environment will be the establishment of accounting for contributions to the contingency fund, contributions to the tour operator’s personal liability fund, as well as accounting for payments (refusals to pay) out of the assets of these funds. It is supposed to set the priority of receiving insurance benefits or bank guarantee payments: first, tourists, then, the Turpomosch Association. Moreover, it is proposed to set requirements for the organisation officials and introduce provisions on the regulation of its governing bodies,” said Dmitry Gorin. (for more details visit https://www.tourprom.ru/news/43315/)

Besides, the new regulation of the Turpomosch Association allows for paying hotel fees to the tourists of bankrupt tour operators. Payment for the remaining days in the hotel voucher will be made out of the funds. (for more details visit https://ria.ru/20190912/1558599158.html)

On the sidelines of the General Assembly, Dmitry Gorin noted that tour operators are discussing the possibility of reducing contributions to personal liability funds and partially replacing them with bank guarantees. Such contributions currently make up for high 7%, which could lead to a rise in the cost of tourism product. Dmitry Gorin commented on the situation: “We see a way out in introducing the bank guarantee tool, while maintaining the insurance tool, without reducing the responsibility of tour operators. We ask the Central Bank to enhance monitoring of insurance companies and inform about their reliability. This also applies to airlines, because we want to understand the real situation of their financial and economic performance.” (for more details visit Interfax)

In his interview to RIA, Vipservice Holding CEO noted that all participants of the meeting emphasised the importance of introducing an electronic voucher, whose absence makes it very difficult to track the obligations assumed by travel companies. It is also important to clearly pose the issue of the implementation of the federal registry of travel agents, which should be unified and free of charge. Such a mechanism is already being worked out by the Ministry of Economic Development.

According to Business FM, from October 1, foreigners will be issued free electronic visas to visit St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. To receive a visa, one should only fill out an application on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and wait for an answer that would arrive within four calendar days. “St. Petersburg is really a popular touristic destination all year round, and this step will lead to an increase in tourist trips by 20–40%. From an infrastructural perspective, St. Petersburg is ready to increase volumes. I would like this practice to be extended to other cities, too,” said Dmitry Gorin in an interview to Business FM. (for more details visit https://www.bfm.ru/news/424444)