Introduction of visa-free regime for foreign passengers of river cruises
“The Union of national and international tourist organizations” sent a letter of appeal to the Ministry of Economic Development on the possibility to introduce visa-free travel for foreign cruise passengers.
As it is noted in the letter, today cruise tourism is a dynamically developing component of the modern tourist industry. According to Sergei Korneev, deputy head of the Agency of tourism, the largest number of tourists falls on the cruises.
According to the Association of tour operators of Russia, the realization of this initiative will increase the cruise passenger flow in Russia by 40%.
“Introduction of visa-free regime for river cruise passengers can increase the demand by 30–40% in 2 years, from the present 350–400 thousand people to 500–550 thousand”, — said the director of the Union of national and international tourist organizations, Alexander Gorokhov.
It is necessary to stress that a visa-free regime will ensure an additional annual inflow of 200 billion rubles in the Russian economy.
This measure will allow tourists to start and finish cruises in Russia, will increase the attractiveness of port cities, as it will allow tourists to stay there for 2–3 days before or after boarding on a cruise ship.