Providing compensation for tourists spending their holidays in Russia

According to the statement of the Association of tour operators of Russia, tourists who decide to spend their holidays in Russia will get a partial compensation for the costs of tours in the form of cashback on a Bank card "Mir". This possibility is provided by the program for stimulating tourist trips in Russia, developed by Rostourism together with the operator of the Mir payment system.

Rostourism has sent a document to the tour operators inviting them to participate in a marketing campaign «aimed at stimulating sales of tourist trips to the new destinations in the country». The Agency has compiled a list of 44 Russian regions that are covered by this promotion. In particular, compensation will be paid after the purchase of a tour package that provides for a vacation from at least 5 days from August, 15 to December, 20 in the following regions:

Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Ivanovskaya, Irkutsk, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kostroma, Leningrad, Murmansk, Nizhniy novgorod, Novgorodian, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Pskov, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Sakhalin, Sverdlovsk, Smolenskaya,

Tverskaya, Tula, Tumen, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk region, Yaroslavl region, Bashkiria, Buryatia, Kabardino balkaria, Karelia, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Khakassia, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region Kamchatka region, Krasnoyarsk region, Perm region, Primorsky region, Khabarovsk region.

Compensation is also provided for the purchase of tours outside the high summer season - from October 1 to December 20 this year in 11 more regions:

• Kaliningrad,
• Leningrad and Moscow regions,
• Moscow and St. Petersburg,
• Altai territory and the Republic of Altai,
• Crimea and Sevastopol,
• Krasnodar and Stavropol territories.

Moscow and St. Petersburg are included in the list on the condition that the tour will be combined - maximum 2 nights in the capital and at least 3 nights in the other region.

According to the terms of the promotion, the tour must include transportation by any means of transport and hotel accommodation that have passed the mandatory classification. The minimum duration of the tour is 5 nights, and the cost is at least 25,000 rubles. Cruise routes with accommodation on the ship also fall under the terms of the promotion.

Tourists must buy a tour or cruise on the tour operator's website or online using the card of any Bank issuing the Mir payment system. There are no other payment methods available.

• According to the terms of the promotion, when you buy a tour from 25,000 to 50,000 rubles, 5,000 rubles will be refunded to your Bank card.
• For tours that cost from 50,000 to 75,000 rubles, there is a cashback of 10,000 rubles.,
• For tours more than 75,000 rubles – compensation of 15,000 rubles.

Association of tour operators of Russia does not specify when the cashback will be paid.

Thus, according to the Prime Minister, 15 billion rubles will be allocated for these purposes. These funds will be used for partial compensation of expenses for people who decide to spend their holidays in the Russian regions by the end of this year.

Now the industry is in a difficult situation and it is necessary not only to support it, but also to provide conditions for dynamic development, including opening up new opportunities for domestic tourism.

In addition, this innovation will help to raise social tourism, since not all residents of Russia can afford to go to resorts or use long-distance flights.

Travel agencies are also ready to work within the framework of the new law and believe that it can bring an increase in revenue, in particular in the framework of potential contracts with large employers in the regions.