Foreigners will be allowed to stay in Russia without visa for up to 10 days

The Russian Ministry of Culture offered a visa-free program for foreigners in Russia for the next year – but only in the case if the period of stay in the country will not exceed 10 days. Soon, the Minister of Culture will send the letter to the Government with the list of initiatives, – quote the media the statement of Alla Manilowa, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia.

In particular, the innovation will apply to the visitors of big cultural, business or sports events. For a visa-free travel to Russia a foreigner will need only an invitation or a ticket to an event.

Another initiative of the Ministry, made earlier, was the idea of a visa-free regime for transit tourists who stay in Russia for up to 72 hours. Such a regime is in force in St. Petersburg for the cruise ship passengers. The experts note, the first year of the liberalization of the visa regime brought the town additional 460,000 foreign travelers, which also affected the tourist flow to Moscow, due to the active development of transport between cities.

As another priority in the development of the tourism industry Manilowa noted the creation of mini-budget hotels. Today this type of accommodation is practically missed in Russia on the official level, because there is no sufficient legal basis for its existence. In particular, the official name of this type of accommodation is the term “lodging-house”. However, the Ministry of Culture has undertaken to improve the situation, setting the appropriate amendments to the laws. The Ministry hopes that through these efforts, about 4 thousand mini-hotels will be opened in Russia by 2020.