“We need to overcome the unfavorable information background”

The Ministry of Economy expects that by 2030 the incoming tourist flow to Russia will increase by 13 million people. What needs to be done for this, the director of the department of multilateral economic cooperation and special projects of the Ministry of Economy told Kommersant Nikita Kondratyev.

— Do you expect an increase in the number of incoming tourist trips to Russia this year?

— This year it is too early to give ambitious estimates about the rapid growth of tourist travel to Russia, but we are actively working to improve the set of measures to create conditions for it. By 2030, we plan to increase the incoming tourist flow by 13 million, to 16 million trips.

This year we are launching a program to promote the national tourism brand abroad. It was launched for the first time last week in Delhi at the South Asia International Travel and Tourism Exhibition, SATTE. At the same time, we are starting to share our content on social networks and information resources of target markets. First of all, these are China, the UAE, and India.

We are negotiating complete visa abolition with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia and Myanmar, as well as visa-free group tourist travel with India. The number of flights operated has been increased by a quarter; today there are 40 destinations available.

We are planning a major expansion of the route network with China, Vietnam and India. We are working with aviation authorities to introduce new direct flight destinations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

— What factors contribute to the growth in the number of foreign tourist trips to Russia?

— Russia has always been and remains one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world. Even Russian tourists have been discovering the country for themselves in the last few years. New points of attraction and all-season recreation areas are being created. All that remains is to competently show this to foreign tourists and continue to improve the conditions and convenience of entry into the Russian Federation.

The electronic visa is a very good example of a modern mechanism that influences the growth of entry into the country. I am sure that the potential of this mechanism is much higher; accordingly, it is necessary to continue work to improve and popularize it. In particular, increase the length of stay and frequency of stay, expand the list of countries, introduce a flexible pricing policy, and optimize the composition of the visa application.

— What is holding back the influx of foreign tourists to Russia?

— Among the current areas of work is overcoming the unfavorable information background in many foreign media, as well as the established stereotypes that Russia is only Moscow, St. Petersburg and Baikal. We will fight this as part of the program to promote our tourism brand.

Secondly, this is a reorientation to new markets in the Middle East and Asia, with which we have not previously cooperated on the topic of tourism. This year there are more than 15 industry agreements and cooperation mechanisms with new foreign partners in the works. That is, a base and constant dialogue are being formed in the field of tourism and hospitality, economic ties are being built.

It is necessary to work on further expansion of transport accessibility and logistics, as a whole, the route network of air transportation with foreign countries. An important issue is solving the problem of non-cash payment for services in Russia. But this is a very sensitive area; we are implementing and testing individual solutions for foreign tourists together with banks.

— Which countries can be considered the main suppliers of foreign tourists to Russia?

— We are recording an increase in travel from China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Kuwait and Iran. In addition to quantity, there is also such an important indicator as the quality of the tourist: his average bill, duration of the trip, number of overnight stays in classified hotels.

Interviewed by Alexandra Mertsalova