Federal Media Review

The monitoring of tour guides’ activity was discussed in the program “Morning of Russia” on Russia 1 channel. “The main issue is that this market, unfortunately, is not regulated in any way now. Most guides work illegally. And we should not forget that there are still leading guides. In active tourism they are responsible for people's health. Tragedies happen, including those on excursions,” Dmitry Gorin commented on the situation. (More from 1h. 20 min.)

Vesti.ru talked about the refunding procedure for travel services to Italy and Korea. Travel operators are required to return all funds for trip canceling due to coronavirus without a penalty, but it will be more difficult for independent travelers. “We hope that it will be like with China: airlines will allow independent tourists to have the money refunded. Current information can be found at the place of ticket purchase. As for the hotels, you need to contact the hotel or the aggregator where you booked your stay, yourself with a request to cancel the application and make a refund,”said Dmitry Gorin. (Read more)

According to Dmitry Gorin, today there are about 20 thousand Russian tourists in Italy, 6 thousand of them are organized. The latter will return to Russia before mid-March. “The main tourist flow will return to Russia within this week. All flights are planned, no one returns pre-scheduled. Unorganized tourists should be guided by the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rospotrebnadzor,” he told Moscow 24. (Read more)

On the Vesti FM radio, Dmitry Gorin explained how the suggestion not to visit a country differs from the ban and what tourists can expect if they get into the infection zone or catch a virus. (Read more)