Most surprising, perhaps, news of recent days was the conversion of tourism to the state Duma with the request “expeditiously as an anti-crisis measure” to consider the bill on the introduction of electronic visas for entry into Russia not 2021, and on 1 September 2020, and a number of representatives of the tourism industry immediately made proposals to “open” in this way for foreigners to Moscow, Sochi and Kazan on 1 June. Amendments to the legislation actively promotes the Russian Union of travel industry (PCT), recently changed its leadership. Independent from the travel industry observers called the initiative an adventurous and even dangerous in the current situation with coronavirus COVID-19. So, the co-Chairman of “Business Russia” Anton Danilov-Danilyan called the haste in this matter “a direct threat to the health and safety of the citizens of Russia”.
the News from Russia about “e-visas” was greeted with surprise and in Europe. While the situation with COVID-19 remains uncertain, and some European leaders calling to keep the borders shut, at least until the end of the year, Russia demonstrates the wonders of hospitality. However, in the “road map” out of quarantine, which was presented by the European Commission, the opening of the external borders of the EU is at the very end, and for whom the hurry of mystery.
However, the initiative that the new President of the PCT Andrey Ignatyev went to the head of Rostourism Zarine Doguzova, not only seems to be supported by administrative resources, but also accompanied by a significant information campaign. And about “e-visas” are encouraged to write not only responsible tourism, but also major media. It is difficult, for example, to explain the fact that on April 28 on the website of a leading news Agency published the news from five months ago: “Almost a third of Europeans planning a trip to Russia.” As it turns out from the text, the conclusion is made on the basis of a poll conducted at the end of 2019. It would be interesting to look at the Caucasian, to which the sociologist will ask this question now…
If you escape from “the lobby games” and to estimate the possible economic effect of the introduction of electronic visas insights, I think, are not so clear. Visa exemptions entered Russia in recent years has shown that benefits from them, who else but the Russian economy. The most striking example – the agreement on visa-free group travel, negotiated with China in 2000. It led to the emergence in Russia of an intermediary-monopolist – the Association “World without borders” received, according to media reports, in 2016-2017 for $15 each and were imported into our country to tourists from China. Arriving in Russia, the Chinese use, according to the investigation, “Kommersant”, as a rule, only their “grey” guides, Peteplaces in restaurants that hold their own countrymen, are purchased in “closed” Chinese stores are settled in cash, without any fiscal documents, etc.
the Story is too well known to recount it again. In addition, the new Russian reality of the mountain of debris remaining after tourists and free interpretation of the facts of our history of Chinese guides. For example, the Tsar Bell, in their common version, cracked due to the fact that it fired from a gun drunk Emperor Peter I. And Basil, was named “personal guard” Ivan the terrible… came down to the fact that the writer Tatyana Tolstaya publicly offered to build a replica of St. Petersburg specifically for Chinese tourists – somewhere in Siberia.
as for the Far East, here about the benefits of e-visas it is best to statistics: 80% of entering them are the same Chinese, purpose of visits, which is far from tourism. That is, de facto simplified entry only accelerated illegal economic expansion of China in Primorye.
you Can refer to the analysis of the experience of its neighbors – Belarus, whose authorities in 2017 unilaterally imposed short-term “bezviz” for the citizens of 80 countries. If you believe the official statistics, the positive dynamics is, but its relationship with the relaxation of the visa regime is not obvious: for example, “visa” 2017 Belarus called for less foreign tourists than in the “visa” of 2015.
These data clearly indicate that difficulties in obtaining visas are a major barrier to the growth of the tourist flow. To attract more tourists, we need first to develop tourism infrastructure, marketing and promotion of Russia as a tourist destination in the international market. A simple introduction of electronic visas, according to many representatives of the tourist industry, the “revolution” will not produce. To Europeans it is important to have something to look at, a comfortable place to live, to eat, and the difficulty of obtaining visas is only irritating but not critical obstacle.
I do not stand up to criticism and caution of the Federal tourism Agency that “Russia will not receive about 1 million tourists, and the budget is about 100-110 billion rubles.”, if you do not take the normative documents on e-visa by 1 September 2020 the Average travel budget foreign tourists in Russia is about 140 thousand rubles. Of course, the budget will get only a portion of these funds, which is comparable to the amount of consular fees for issuing visas to foreigners. So the budget of additional revenues from the introduction of electronic visas in 2021 is likely to receive.
the Reason for the unexpected increased debate on e-visas can be quite mundane. It is no secret that the PCT in March was headed by the person for a long time holds a special place.visa visa business. “How to make millions on visas for Russians” was the title of an article published in 2011 in the newspaper “Vedomosti” , where Andrey Ignatyev was called one of the beneficiary of almost all official “Schengen” visa centers in Russia. Is it possible to be surprised that his first loud initiative as President of the PCT, both the “acceleration” of e-visas?
But the main misunderstanding in this whole story is selected for the initiative time. What about the simplification of visa regime are we talking about when many countries have closed borders and don’t plan to open them, at least until the end of the summer? Epidemic COVID-19 in Russia have not even reached a plateau, and in the “cured” China started a new outbreak. Agree, does this background of intense lobbying e-visa is not only irresponsible, but also not afraid of the word, is frankly cynical?
