The Russian government should elaborate proposals to simplify the order of entry into the Russian Federation by foreign tourists by June 1. This request was made by President Dmitry Medvedev as a result of the meeting devoted to developing tourism cluster in the North Caucasus.
Dmitry Medvedev said that not more than 2 million tourists visit Russia annually. Our country has a lot of potential, so far only a small part of which has been realized. According to the President, the main problems, hindering the development of incoming tourism, are the “old immigration rules.”
Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Resorts of the North Caucasus,” Senator Ahmed Bilalov agreed with the president. He noted that today Russia remains one of the most difficult countries in the world for tourists in terms of visa regulations and immigration procedures.
Experts consider that to get a Russian visa for Europeans is not so much difficult, but could be expensive. In particular, besides visa fees tourists often have to pay extra fees for additional services of so-called “Visa centers”. As a result, Russian visa for Europeans could cost about 80 euros or even more, instead of 35 euros.
The President also instructed the government by June 1, 2012 to draft proposals on the establishment of tourist-recreational special economic zone in Adler district of Sochi “in order to further use of facilities and associated infrastructure created for the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014.” www.atorus.ru
