RUTI submits the government certain steps to ease visa formalities for tourists

Russian Union on Travel Industry (RUTI) channeled to Russian Government a tender on easing Russian touristic visa regulations for foreign citizens.

It will be recalled that lately, a number of Schengen countries signifacantly simplified visa formal inputs for Russians among which is issuing multi tourist visas for half a year, year and longer. It stimulates Russians traveling abroad: according tot he experts’ estimation, any visa easings increase destination’s tourist flow by 20-30%.

Unfortunately, the matter with the inbound tourism stands worse. The tourist inbound flow stagnates from such coutries as Germany, USA, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, France, Austris, which remain dominant markets for us. According tot he Russian Statistics, slightly over two million people a year visit Russia with tourist purpose which is a very low rate and is in counguence with such countries as Laos (about two million tourists), Costa-Rica (more than two million), Honduras (2.2 million). For comparison: Czech Republic annually receives about 6.5 million tourists, South Africa – eight million, the Netherlands – 11 million, Mexico – 22.6 million, China – 56 million, France – 60 million, USA – 80 million.

The receiving touroperators in Russia associate this situation with Russian visa obtainment complicacy. “Americans visibly simplified the visa obtainment procedure for Russians, and we’ve been discussing plans on easing entry for American tourist for a year, but things are still where they started. The Russian Consulate always gives Americans minimum space of time – exactly for the hotel booked period. And God forbid staying for 2 more days! What is there to say about tourism development?”, - exclaims the General Director of Tari Tour Company Marina Lavchenko.

Besides, when applying for visa through the Russian Consulate, foreigners meet unreasonably complicated visa obtainment procedure and frequently just give up the trip. “The Russian visa obtainment procedure works poorly. It’s expesive, there are queues, our partners worldwide constantly complain of difficulties and inconveniences. It seriously holds the tourist flow to our country”, - told the Vice President of Intourist Company Nikolay Kakora to RATA-news. According to him, this status is being complicated by giving a complete control over visa issueing procedure to intermediaries, visa centers, which are not always thorough in business.

The President of Reisebuero Welt Company Konstantin Radushkevich considers visa center not easing, but complicating the formalities for foreign tourists. “Some time ago, when there were only Consulates, it was easier to obtain a Russian visa, and for tour operators it was easier to work”, - he noted. According to the vivid expression of the General Director of Svoy TT Company Sergey Voytovich, who is attached to the TUI Travel PLC Interntaion Group, Russian Consulate visa centers through out Europe by their present looks are “bottles’ necks” which stopp tourist inbound flow to Russia.

At the same time, tour operators are sure that the point is not in visa centers themselves, but in work organization. For example, in the beginning of 2011, Russian visa centers were opened in Madrid and Barcelona and all tour operators sending tourists to our country were at onces denied accreditation in the Consulates. Now, to submit documets, they must queue up with tourists and other non touristic organizations. At the same time all companies lost the possibility of on-line visa documents submitting. Visa centers charge 35 euro which made Russian visa cost grow by 30%, and tour operators’ discount is only three (!) euro. Visa issuing period went from 3-10 days to 8-21 days. And the visa centers don’t bear responsibility for visa issueing terms.

And the foreign Consulates that opened their visa centers in Russia already showed how to organize effective work with tour business. They (including Spanich visa center) didn’t cancel the accreditation of sending companies: Russian eigh leading tour operators apply documents not through a visa center but directly to the consulate. Any of them can apply for visa through Visa Tour electronic system. Other tour operators benefit from special document submission terms through visa centers: there’s a special window operating for them with 50% off service fee. The term of issueing Spanish visas doesn’t exceed 4-5 days. Almost all Russians obtain a half-year Spanich milti visa that costs same as a single entry visa, but Russian Embassy in Spain issues multi visas for extra payment and with enhanced package of documents.

And here’s the result for 2011: the tourist flow from Russia to Spain grew by 57%. The tourist flow from Spain to Russia grew as well, but by 16% and only due to the Year of Russia - the Spanish government sponsored delegations’ trips to our country.

Recently, all Spanish tour operators sending tourists to Russia received a notification from Russian visa ceter on introduction of an E-form for fulfilling, which goes into effort from June, 1, by order of MFA Russian Federation. It can be found on a new admitistrational Web-portal. Now, tour operators should do what visa centers used to: fulfill the E-form of the applicant, print it out, glue the photo and provide it to visa center along with other documents. What’s left for a visa center is forward the collected and filled set of documents to the Consulate for an extra payment from the tour operator. It’s not a surprise such business scheme perturbes Spanish tour operators who spend considerable facilities and expend energy in promoting Russa as a leisure destination.

“It’s evident that visa centers perceive such procurement of visas as their proper business“, - says Sergey Voytovich. According to him it’s even more strange that recently Russian government pointed MFA to relevancy of visa regime relaxation for foreigners. “In March, within the meeting on the Caucasus resorts, Russian president of that time Dmitriy Madvedev assigned the government to tender offers on visa regime relaxation within the period till June, 1, and later on, the present president Vladimir Putin charged the government with the same task. The Head of UNWTO repeatedly pointed the necessity of clearing the hurdle for developing the inbound tourism, but MFA doesn’t seem to be listening”, - noted Mr. Voytovich.

The development of an E-form has become the last straw for RUTI repeatedly pointing that existing visa praxis retards the development of inbound tourism to Russia. The Head of branch associations appealed to the government of Russia with a request on assistance in this process, submitting certain steps for easing visa procedure for foreign tourists. It includes the reduction of necessary list of visa submittion documents from five to three and simplification of the application form. It’s also important to shorten and set an exact time period of issuing travel visa, as now every Russian Consulate, even within one same country, sets the term independently. An average time period is from 7 to 21 days, but along with this some Consulates rate calendar day, and some – only work days.

RUTI insists on accreditating tour operators operating under Russian Consulates and elimination visa centrs’ and their intermediarys’ monopoly. According to the tour operators, a number of visa centers opened in several countries were established by means of disclosed lobbying without complying with the laws of Russia on Government procurement and tender process. Opening visa centers, companies are actually at liberty to monopoly power to visas issueing, overpricing and extending the time on, so to say, paper handling. Besides, there are intermediary companies which have priorities in execution of documents for travel visa.

RUTI believes that submitted steps would allow increasing the inbound touist flow to Russia by 20-30% and hold this tendency for the following years. It would have become an important unilateral step to elimination of visa regime between Russia and the European Union.