Das Ministerium für Kultur ist ein Bild von Russland als ein sicheres Land für den Tourismus zu schaffen

The Ministry of Culture proposed for consideration the bills aimed at regulating the tour business in Russia. Some of these bills propose to introduce a certification of tour guides.

According to the head of Tourism and Regional Policy Department of the Ministry of Culture Olga Yarilova, it is necessary to determine dangerous tourist routes and attest the tour guides to create an image of Russia as a safe country for tourism.

“This will allow creating the transparency and accountability of the excursion services market and a positive image of Russia as a favorable and safe country for tourism”, – said Yarilova.

It must be emphasized that all the measures aim to protect the consumers' rights and to ensure the safety of tourists.

“Most importantly, we empower the authorities in the subjects to attest the tour guides and the federal executive authorities to set the order of this attestation. We amend the Code on Administrative Violations by introducing administrative fines for carrying out activity without certification”, – noted Yarilova.

It is also proposed to clarify the main definitions used in the industry such as “tour guide”, “guide-interpreter”, “guide-instructor”, as well as to introduce new items such as “tourist route” and “hazardous tourist route”.