Foreign tourists cancelling tours to Russia

Foreign tour operators and clients massively cancel or postpone tours to Russia with arrivals for the coming dates, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze told RIA Novosti.

"Foreign tour operators and clients are massively canceling or postponing tours with arrivals for the coming dates. The reason was both the 'lockdown' introduced in Russia, holidays until November 7, and the lack of understanding what the restrictions will be after its end,” Lomidze said.

She noted that recently the main flow of tourists to Russia is from the UAE, Qatar, India, there are tourists from Europe - Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia.

"At the moment, there are no official and general regulations for the protocol of actions for foreign tourists in the situation with QR codes. It seems that so far, the only option for foreign tourists to stay in Russia after the end of non-working days is constant PCR testing. In fact, tourists will have to take a PCR test every 72 hours after entering Russia - they take one before departure to our country. This will require not only additional funds, but also time – to take the test you need to go to the laboratory,” she added.

Lomidze pointed out that tour operators in the field of inbound tourism note that now there is an urgent need for a procedure and regulations on how foreigners can check into hotels, visit restaurants, when they open, and other facilities.

"The pre-New Year period is ahead, which is gaining more and more popularity among foreign tourists. The New Year’s arrivals have not yet been canceled. Tourists are waiting for an explanation of the situation with QR codes,” she concluded.

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