Putin urged to expand the opportunities for people with different incomes to travel

Russians with different income levels should have ample opportunities for travel and health promotion, declared Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the State Council Presidium on Tourism Development.

“We must do everything necessary to make the widest possible and accessible opportunities for people with different incomes to travel, improve their health in order to receive positive emotions,” he said.

In particular, Russians should be able to visit Russian health resorts, seaside resorts, Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as get acquainted with Russian nature, including the Far East.

“The active development of tourism, especially in difficult modern conditions, is now coming, if not to the very forefront, then to one of the most significant places. Russia has enormous potential here, and each region has its own unique advantages,” the president added.

In pre-pandemic 2019, the Russian authorities developed a strategy for the development of tourism in Russia for the period up to 2035. One of the goals of its implementation then was to more than double the number of domestic trips per inhabitant, as well as to triple the export of tourism services and investments in the field of tourism.

In February 2022, targets have been adjusted: now the tourist flow should increase by more than three times, and the number of inbound tourist trips of foreign citizens to Russia should increase eight times. The average number of employed in the industry should increase from 1.66 million to 4.96 million, and the number of rooms in classified hotels – by 755,000 units to 948,000. In addition, the results will be compared with figures for 2020, not 2017 d., as first assumed.

In August 2020, the authorities launched a cashback program for paying for tourist trips in Russia, thus they planned to stimulate domestic tourism. Those wishing to receive cashback must register on the site and pay for the ticket purchased from the operator with a Mir card within a certain period. After that, 20% of the cost of the trip will automatically be returned to the card (but not more than 20,000 rubles). In August, the government increased the maximum cashback for trips to the Far East to 40,000 rubles.

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