Russian travel and tourism legislation. Novellae and practice The International Forum of Travel and Tourism advocates (I

1. Russian travel and tourism legislation. Novellae and practice The International Forum of Travel and Tourism advocates(IFTTA) Speaker: Head of Legal departmentFederal Agency for tourism Pisarevskiy Evgeny.

2. Legislation innovations • Russian travel and tourism legislationhas been renewed and harmonized according to the International and European travel and tourism law standards ( definition of travel package tour, holiday&tourism industry, tourism, tourism safety security, consumer protection norms etc); • Unified Federal register of tour operators has been formed , license regulations of travel business activity has been cancelled ( approx. 10000 tour operator licenses and 20000 tour agent licenses was issued from 1993 till 2006.) • Financial security of the tour operator`s liability (bank guarantees and a contract for liability insurance of tour operator); • Unified procedure for realization of travel packages, tour and holiday packages has been work out, consumer protection methods and means have been introduced ; • New form “Tourist voucher’ has been adopted; • The essences of contracts between tour operator and tourist, travel agent and tourist, tour operator and travel agent has been established, procedure for making amendments and for cancelling a contract have been defined; • Requirements for ensuring the tourism safety and security have been established, these include informing procedure concerning tourism security threatening at tourism destinations.

3. Legislation innovations • Formed legal framework for organizing special recreational economic zones, definition tourism-recreational activity including 3 components ( tour operator activity; hotel services, medical activity in spa and resort and industrial construction activity) • First concession agreements of tourism and leisure objects have been concluded; • Classification and standardization of tourism industry objects ( hotels and accommodation, beaches, skiing races,etc); • Developing federal and regional state tourism programs and strategies; • Self-regulations at the tourism market, development of rule-making (rules and standards) among self-regulation organizations (associations (units) of touroperators, banks and insurers); • Air carriage rules of tourism on boards of the regular and charter flights

4. Legislation of travel and tourism business activity (Federal laws) • The Federal law of 24 November 1996, # 132-FZ «On the foundations of travel business activity in the Russian Federation” (the version of 5 February 2007 # 12-FZ) (came into force 1st o f June 2007) • The Federal law of 3 June 2006 #. 76-FZ “On introduction the amendments into the Federal law “On special (free) economic zones in the Russian Federation • The Federal law of 21July 2005 # 115-FZ “On concession agreements” • The Federal law “On organization and conduction of XII Olympic Games 2014 and XI Winter Paralympic Games 2014 in Sochi, the development of Sochi as a mountain-climatic resort and making amendments into some legislative acts of Russian Federation” • The Federal law of 01 December 2007“On self-regulated organizations”

5. Legislation of travel and tourism business activity (Legal acts of the Government of Russia) • Order of Government of the Russian Federation of 18 July 2007 # 452 “Rules of package tours, travels and holidays realisation”; • Order of the Government of the Russian Federation # 490 of 25 April 1997 “Rules of hotel services ”; • Order of the Government of the Russian Federation # 532of 28 August 2003 .“On the establishment of the Regulation of foreign citizens-cruiser passengers staying on the territory of the Russian Federation”. • Model concession agreement under the objects of culture, sport, leisure and tourism and other social-cultural objects (adopted by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation# 90 of 9 February 2007)

6. Legal acts of Federal Agency for tourism (Rostourism) • Order of 21 July 2005 # 86 “On the approval of hotel classification system and other types of accommodation”; • Order of 5 September 2006 # 119 “On the approval of beach classification system” • Order of 14 November 2006 # 145 “On the approval of skiing-mountain races classification system”; • Order of10 May 2007 # 28 “On the approval of the regulation on Unified Federal register of tour operators”; • Order of 19 December 2007 # 141 “On the approval of the Administrative Regulation on providing the state information service concerning safety and security threats at the tourism destination for tour operators, travel agents and tourists” • Order of 28 November 2007 #128“Procedure for defining the tourism organizations, realizing its activity in the frame of Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China about non-visa tourist groups of 29 February 2000“

7. Legal acts of the other executive bodies • Order of the Ministry of finance of the Russian Federation of 9 July 2007 # 60n “On the establishmentof the register form of “Tourist voucher” • Order of the Ministry of transport of the Russian Federation of 28 June 2007 # 82 “Federal aircraft rules “General rules for air service of passengers , freightand requirements for a service of air travelers, consignors, consignees".

8. Projects of the legal acts of Rostourism • Regulations on qualification of instructor-conductors, provided tourists safety having danger route travel (mountain, water, speleological) • Regulations on qualification guides and guide-interpreters

9. Unified Federalregister of tour operator(March, 2008)

10. Obligations to enter to Unified Federalregister of tour operator • Legal entities registered on the territory of the Russian Federation and realizing the tour operator`s activity; • Legal entities which are realizing on the territory of the Russian Federation travel packages, formed by foreign tour-operator;

11. a civil (contractual) liability insurance in case of non-performance or improper performance tour operator obligations under a travel package contract ; a bank guarantee for proper performance of the tour operator obligations under a travel package contract The forms of financial guarantee of tour operator’s liability

12. Financial security structure

13. Financial guarantee covers • Refund of money paid over for the travel package services; • Obtain real damage compensation, including the tourists repatriation expenses from a country (place) of temporary staying;

14. Financial guarantee is used • in case of breaches of essence of contract by tour operator: non- performance carriage and (or) accommodation obligations, essential breaches of safety (security) and quality requirements for travel package

15. The minimum amount of financial guarantee

16. Rules of package tours, travels and holidays realization • Requirements for the travel business activity (tour operator, travel agent) • Procedure of giving tourist (consumer) an obligatory information about travel packages and tour operator, agent etc; • Procedure of contract conclusion (preliminary contract, public offer, requirements for travel packages advertisement, etc) • Essence of contract between tour operator (travel agent) and tourist ( tour operator registers number, information about financial security, bank (insurer), customer characteristic and travel package characteristic, etc).

17. Rules of package tours, travels and holidays realization • Requirements for the quality, safety and security of travel packages ; • Procedure for changing and cancellation of a contract; • Liability of tour operator (tour agent) (contract and tort)

18. Tourism safety and security (definition) Personal safety and security of tourists (sightseers), and their belongings Environmental safety and security; Safety and Security of material and non-material (cultural etc) values of society; Safety and security of a State

19. Rostourism obligations • To inform tour operators, travel agents and tourists (sightseers) on safety and security threats for tourists (sightseers) at tourism destination, including publishing of essential information in the state mass-media

20. Administrative regulation “Informing tour operators, tour agents and tourist on safety and security threats for tourists (sightseers) at tourism destination • procedure of acting in case of safety and security threats, including the organization of the “hot line” in Rostourism while the period of security threats • procedure of cooperation of Rostourism with the other executive bodies (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, Federal service for Customer`s right protection, Ministry of Emergency Situations, etc.)

21. Attachment №4 Information for tourists about safety and security threats Continent, country, region 1. Emergency safety and security threats earthquake Emergency situation of natural type Anthropogenic emergency situations Ecological emergency situations Case of Emergency 2. Natural safety and security threats Danger geological processes Danger processes of biogenic origin Fires in natural systems Volcanic activity landslips epidemic, activated by focal diseases Danger hydro meteorological processes Dander cryopedology processes flood Cloudburst flood avalanching whirlwind Snow slide Failure of permafrost typhoons Rundown phenomena tsunami 3. Anthropogenic safety and security threats Anthropogenic accidents Anthropogenic catastrophe 4. Social safety and security threats Infections diseases Crime and other encroachment on tourist`s life, health or belongings Armed conflicts Mass disorders Terroristic acts International, interconfessional and regional conflicts, supplying acts of violance to tourists 5. Other safety and security threats Territory Border of spreading (acting) the safety and security threats and its consequences Date and place of appearing the safety and security threats and supposed terms of its regulating Information resource

22. Results of fullfilment of legislation innovations • Protection of the rights and customs` interests has been considerably increased; • Quality of tourism services and ensuring the safety and security have been improved; • Tourism has been recognized State de jure and de facto as the privileged branch of economics in Russia; • Competitiveness of national tourism industry has been considerably increased, transparence and investment attractiveness of business has been improved; • Incomes of regional and local budgets, population employmenthas been increased; • Image of Russia as a favorable tourism country has been improved