Ministry of Tourism Budgets – Newspaper Kommersant No. 166 (7367) of 09/09/2022

The complicated political situation and a series of sanctions cost the Russian tourism market dearly, but strengthened the authorities’ determination to develop it. For six months there have been no serious attempts to revise the budgets of the national project or programs of the industry, and within the framework of the last State Council, a readiness for some flexibility was also revealed. A striking example is President Vladimir Putin’s remark at the Eastern Economic Forum about a possible rejection of the usual “principle of reciprocity” to ease the visa regime: “We need to use all these principles when it is to our advantage. If something interferes with us, why do we need such principles?

So far, everything is fine with the money. The total budget of the tourism national project for this year is 230.1 billion rubles, of which 68.1 billion rubles are federal budget funds. 231.7 billion rubles are planned for 2023. and 57.8 billion rubles. respectively. Added to this are related grant and subsidy programs. But the question of who will manage the funds has become an occasion for discussion.

Brightly internal confrontation was exposed on the margins of the same Eastern Economic Forum. It all started with the unexpected for many initiative of the Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako to create a Ministry of Tourism, the need for which he associated with “financial and economic disunity.”

The picture cleared up a little at the subsequent meeting of the State Council, after the proposal was made to transfer the management of the state program for the development of the industry to Rostourism. The profile Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko did not find such an approach of understanding. He immediately reminded the president that 75% of the funds go to the construction of infrastructure, which is supervised by the Ministry of Construction, and “this decision was made consciously.”

Vladimir Putin treated the problem philosophically, suggesting that the government solve it on its own. “The discussion is very simple. Who should master 10 billion rubles. Either the Ministry of Construction or Rostourism. In fact, it makes no difference to me,” he said at the plenary session of the forum.

But the billions allocated for the development of the industry are apparently indifferent only to the president. For market participants and regulators, the question of who and how will share the funds and spheres of influence in strengthening domestic tourism is a vital issue. The Telegram channel “May Ukaz” even conducted a survey on who should build tourist facilities. The leader, according to 25.8 thousand voters, was Minister of Construction Irek Fayzullin, gaining 64% of the vote.

For business, the outbreak of the war of towers is an ambiguous signal. On the one hand, it will inevitably slow down the implementation of projects and the solution of current industry problems. But on the other hand, it opens room for maneuver for lobbyists.