RBC: the tourist industry suggested that the authorities abandon the “parity” in the aviation industry

The tourism industry has proposed a number of measures to the government aimed at increasing the number of trips by foreigners, including the rejection of the “parity rule” in the aviation industry and the introduction of an “open skies” regime for foreign carriers. These measures writes RBCwere discussed at a strategic session of the Cabinet of Ministers, held by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The Russian authorities expect to increase the number of foreign tourist trips to the country to 16 million by 2030. At the same time, there were only 3 million such trips in 2022. In pre-pandemic 2019, about 10 million tourists from other countries visited Russia, the newspaper notes.

According to tour operators, such indicators can be achieved due to increased transport accessibility, in particular, the rejection of the “parity rule”, which assumes that all countries participating in aviation conventions agree to resume flights at the same time. They also propose to expand the open skies regime – that is, to allow foreign airlines to carry passengers to third countries, as well as to reduce the fee for flying over the territory of the Russian Federation.

Other measures discussed at the session with Mishustin relate to the facilitation of the visa regime and the simplification of financial settlements for foreigners. The head of the working group that prepared proposals for attracting tourists to Russia, the chairman of the State Committee for Tourism of Tatarstan Sergey Ivanov, said that in order to increase inbound tourism, it is necessary to simplify the application form for obtaining an electronic visa, reduce its cost, and also introduce the possibility of visa-free entry to the Russian Federation for friendly countries in unilaterally.

Earlier at SPIEF 2023, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov (in charge of tourism) saidthat the authorities are aiming to increase inbound tourism to 16 million trips. To solve this problem, it is necessary to ensure the availability of entry into Russia and promote the country’s tourism brand abroad, he noted. The internal tourist flow should reach 140 million people by 2030.

From August 1, citizens of 55 foreign countries may obtain an electronic visa to enter Russia through border checkpoints. The visa gives the right to a single entry to Russia on a guest or business visit, as a tourist, as well as to participate in scientific, cultural, socio-political, economic, sports events. The visa will be valid for 60 days from the date of issue, it allows you to stay in Russia for 16 days.