Alexandra Mertsalova’s column on the regulation of the author’s tours market

The rules of the game in the market of private excursions are studied by the correspondent of the consumer market department Alexandra Mertsalova

The death of eight people in the Neglinka underground sewer instantly revived talk about security measures in the city. The Moscow City Duma is already talking about the need to toughen penalties for illegal entry into such facilities. But no less significant consequences are likely to come for the tourism market.

Alexander Kim, general director of Sputnik LLC, was brought in for interrogation yesterday, who “carried out the sale and provision of services that led to the death of the group.” This company is the legal entity of the Sputnik8.com resource, an online excursion booking service. The location of the owner of Avangard Alexander Lazovsky, who also sold the digging tour, is being established. The organizer of the tour, Nikita Dubas, was also detained, whom the interlocutor of Kommersant on the market connects with the Tripster booking service.

The conclusions of the investigation are still far away, but this case can already be called indicative. Georgy Mokhov, the head of the legal committee of the Russian Union of the Travel Industry, calls it the first when claims appeared against the online aggregator. It is precisely due to them that the segment of author’s tours has been actively developing in Russia over the past few years, the organization of which is carried out by private individuals, and not by tour operators. There are few restrictions for them: guides can work as self-employed, and the start of their mandatory certification is scheduled only for next summer. The booking service is engaged in attracting customers, taking a commission of 20-30% of the cost of the tour.

This scheme works effectively as long as it doesn’t involve security issues. It is risky routes that are often the most attractive in the eyes of tourists. Guides are not always ready to reveal detailed programs.

The issue of introducing the concept of an aggregator into legislation and delimiting its responsibility with service providers in the tourist market has been discussed over the past few years. It has not yet been possible to make significant progress in this matter, largely due to the lack of a clear need and obvious solutions.

Using booking systems is convenient for both consumers and service providers, and where their responsibility begins and ends is not always obvious.

But now this approach is unlikely to play into the hands of market participants. A tragedy with a large number of victims and a violation of safety rules can lead not only to individual high-profile cases, but also to attract additional attention from regulators to the entire segment. Another question is how close it will be. There are already negative examples in the tourist market. The death of schoolchildren at Syamozero in Karelia in 2016 led to mass checks and the closure of many children’s camps. A similar effect was observed after the tragedy in the Kholdomi camp in the Khabarovsk Territory.