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Domestic Tourism Comes under Kremlin Control
The State Duma may return draft amendments to the law “On the Basis for Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” for another second reading. Deputy chairman of the Economic Policy Committee Yury Baryzkin claims that the minimum financial security for operators servicing tourists from abroad was lowered on Friday from 10 million rubles to 500,000 rubles “though a misunderstanding.” Other members of the committee say that they tried to withdraw the amendments, since the presidential administration sent a new set of amendments.
A full session of the Duma was considering Amendment No. 277, which would have lowered the minimum financial security for domestic tour operators from 1 million rubles to 400,000 rubles. Chairman of the Federal Tourism Agency (Rosturizm) spoke in favor of rejecting that amendment and establishing a minimum financial level of 500,000 rubles for those operators. Duma member Valentina Pivnenko, author of the amendment, suggested an alternative, the text of which had been handed out the day before. As a result, Amendment No. 277 was rejected and the new version of the amendment was approved. Later, it was noticed that the amendment approved lowers the financial security minimum not only for domestic tour operators, but for those serving tourists from abroad as well. The minimum for those companies had been 10 million rubles.
“There are transcripts and video recordings that prove that the Duma members voted only for the reduction of the sum for domestic tourism operators,” Barzykin told Kommersant. Rosturizm press secretary Denis Lazarev said that “We only agreed to changes for domestic tourism.”
Other parliamentarians think that the presidential administration was behind the confusion. A member of the Economic Policy Committee told Kommersant that new amendments were sent from the presidential administration just before the Duma session began and efforts were made to withdraw the amendment under consideration. “But the Duma stood on principle and began the hearing,” the source said.
Under Duma rules, a draft has to have a second reading if changes are made in it after it has been voted on. Rosturizm's draft law “On the Introduction of Changes to the Federal Law On the Basis for Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation'” was passed by the Duma on its first reading on October 18. It was that amendment that established the norms for financial security at 1 million rubles for domestic tour operators and 10 million rubles for international operators serving either inbound or outbound tourists.
The Russian Union of Tourist Industry and some regional authorities were opposed to the high financial security requirement for foreign operators, which were introduced to replace licensing requirements. Nonetheless, only slight changes were made in the amendment on the second reading.
Tour operators loyal to Rosturizm see tour operators that engage in unlawful activities behind the delay in the passage of the amendments. “Very many companies working on the inbound tourism market that help in obtaining tourists visas to Russia help illegal immigrants posing as tourists,” claimed Vladimir Kantorovich, general director of the KMP Group.
www.commersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 18, 2006
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