Andrey Ershov
In the field of digitalization of tourism, the demand is out of all proportion to the supply today. And the Russian legislators intend to work out an adequate response to this challenge, using the existing resources and offering new digital solutions.
This was announced by Irina Rukavishnikova, First Deputy Chairman of the Council for the Development of Digital Economy (under the Council of Federation), during the round table where the parliamentarians, representatives of the tourism industry and relevant departments took part.
She noted that at the moment, almost all travel services can be purchased online, but each service separately. “In fact, tourists need to separately contact a health resort or hotel to make booking, or to separately buy tickets, book an excursion, find out about restaurants or cafes, and make arrangements with guides. Of course, this is a serious problem, because each of us strives to save time, obtain a relevant, verified information protected against fraud, and purchase a quality service”, said Irina Rukavishnikova.
The senator believes, that the task is to produce a unified digital platform where each region could be represented. “The Tourism Development Program until 2035 includes the creation of such a tourism environment. Ideally, it can be a ‘virtual map’ of Russia where every tourist can find an interesting destination, prepare an itinerary, and make all necessary reservations. The opening of the National Tourism Portal Russia.travel at the end of last year was a big step forward”, she said.
“Each region has a lot of historical and cultural attractions, and only the locals know about some of them. It is very important to show such a ‘map of opportunities’ to all tourists, to acquaint the Russian travelers with the tourism anchors of all regions of the Russian Federation,” the senator continued. “Currently, there is a boom in tourism in the regions, and their own platforms are under development. The platforms in some regions are very informative, even an artificial intelligence technology is used in them, and they are simpler in others regions. It is important to use common standards for the presentation and providing of tourism services”.
Irina Rukavishnikova emphasized that another task is providing an opportunity for quick feedback and adjustments to the itinerary. “If necessary, tourists could have a chance to change their vouchers, reschedule their trips to another date, cancel their reservations, while guaranteeing an opportunity to refund the money that was not used”, she said.
There is also a task of safe storage of all tickets, reservations, access codes in one place and, no less important, safe storage of personal data. “A proposal was discussed to create a special digital depository so that personal data could be reliably protected, and tour operators would not be obliged to store them; if necessary, tour operators could just make a request to the depository.” This is all the more relevant, noted Irina Rukavishnikova, because a document on tightening liability for the leak of personal data is now under consideration by the Russian legislators.
Tatyana Sakharova, Senator from the Murmansk Region, spoke about an interesting experience of the region in the development of its online tourism platform. “It is important for us not only to have a digital communication with tourists, but also to develop local tourism business. Legal entities are given the opportunity to give the information about their services, tours and excursions, write articles, add and edit data. In addition, the portal allows implementing a tourist cashback program,” the senator said.
Senator Elena Shumilova took the initiative to introduce a digital Tourist ID (identification document). “This can be done by analogy with the Fan ID used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and it worked well. An electronic Tourist ID is expected to simplify all procedures, including purchasing tickets and receiving discounts,” she said.
Irina Rukavishnikova said that based on the results of the round table discussions, they are going to recommend the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation to create a unified federal tourism portal in the near future that should become a platform for integrating the websites and applications existing in the regions, as well as the best regional practices and developments used to promote domestic tourism. The senator does not rule out that this initiative will be implemented in the expected amendments to the law on tourism activities.
