Vladimir Putin signs verdict closing down Rostourism

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a verdict closing down Rostourism, which is Russia’s federal tourism agency, and handing over its responsibility to the Economic Development Ministry.

The Economic Ministry said that the decision to close Rostourism and to give its duties to the ministry would help Russia realize its tourism objectives in a better way.

Rostourism had looked over the running of state services concerning tourism across Russia since its establishment in 2004, supervising big-ticket events like the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The decision to eliminate the agency comes at a time of chaos in Russia’s tourism industry, with severe Western prohibitions enforced on Moscow for its attack on Ukraine and the suspension of flights from majority of European countries.

Over the past three years, the number of tourists from abroad visiting Russia has continued to drop, according to Dmitry Gorin, the Vice President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry.

Gorin said that over the past three years, because of pandemic limitations, the lack of e-visas, and now the unfeasibility of making payments using foreign bank cards along with nonexistence of direct flights, the general percentage of the decline in tourist numbers to the Russian Federation averaged 95-97%.

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