The Ministry of Economic Development proposes visa abolition

The Ministry of Economic Development provided a letter proposing to create conditions for increasing the flow of foreign tourists to the country. It is assumed that these proposals will be discussed at a meeting with the participation of tour operators of the inbound tourism and public organizations.

A draft program called “Export of Services” has already been prepared by the department for the period until 2025.

The department emphasizes that visa abolition is the first thing that allows achieving a significant influx of tourists. “It is necessary to prepare a plan for the introduction of a visa-free regime with priority countries,” states the letter. The list of such countries is quite large: almost all of Europe, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, China, India, Mexico, Japan and South Korea, Mongolia, Turkey, Iran, Georgia, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.

As another problem for the development of the inbound tourism in Russia, the Ministry considers the difficulties of companies' access to financing.

The department considers that it is necessary to create a national system for the certification of tourist facilities to improve the quality of services provided and select priority areas for the inbound tourism. “The main measures of financial and information support should be focused on their promotion. Among such routes are Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Golden Ring, the Silver Ring, the Silk Road, the Volga Route, the Urals, Yakutia, Buryatia, Kaluga, etc.,” the Ministry reports.

However, not everyone is sure that proposals for visa abolition will be implemented. Moreover, the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this issue has long been known: such measures can be taken only on conditions of reciprocity.