Tour operators propose to introduce a special procedure for working with “friendly” countries

In psychology there is a term “secondary benefit”: these are advantages obtained in a deliberately difficult situation. Russian business in general and the tourism industry in particular have been actively seeking such benefits for several years. In tourism, for example, a discussion has arisen about the appropriateness of benefits for tour operators sending clients to “friendly” countries: the State Duma Committee on Tourism prepared its response to the relevant bill, recommending that it be finalized.

The requirements for tour operators working with outbound markets are much stricter than for players focusing on the product within the country: the amount of required financial support is more than 10 million rubles. against 300–500 thousand rubles, it is necessary to make contributions to the reserve fund and the personal liability fund, the amount of which is calculated from turnover. This should minimize risks for tourists traveling abroad.

The new initiative assumes that businesses operating with “friendly” countries will be subject to the requirements for domestic market participants. The idea itself seems logical: it is unlikely that a holiday in a Belarusian sanatorium or on the coast of Abkhazia carries more risks for a tourist than a trip to Sochi or Kislovodsk.

But the slippery point is the wording itself – “friendly” countries, the official list of which does not exist. Only the list of “unfriendly” ones was approved: there are 49 states on it.

Formally, nothing prevents popular outbound destinations like Egypt or Thailand, which did not impose sanctions restrictions on Russia, from being classified, or at least trying, as “friendly” for tour operators. The question remains: how risky can trips to “friendly” China be considered, the flow of which is formed both by residents of the Far East going on weekends and by holidaymakers making a ten-hour flight to Hainan.

There are also market risks. “The list of “friendly” countries may change depending on the geopolitical situation,” the State Duma committee notes in its conclusion.

But it is also impossible to assume that the initiative to introduce a special procedure for working specifically with “friendly” countries appeared among tour operators out of nowhere. At the end of last year, the Russian government received the opportunity to reduce and eliminate duties on the export of goods to certain countries. This was required to “stimulate the growth of supplies of grain, fertilizers, and raw materials to “friendly” countries,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin explained earlier. It is quite obvious that other industries also wanted to receive preferences for working in certain areas.