The draft federal law on tourism will include antitrust measures to protect domestic booking services. According to the press service of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), the deputies do not exclude the possibility of a return to the Russian market of foreign digital travel platforms. The State Duma believes that domestic tourism platforms should be given priority over Western aggregators, without blocking their foreign counterparts.
In addition, to support domestic aggregators, lawmakers intend to establish the priority of Russian jurisdiction in resolving disputes between domestic and foreign digital travel platforms, service providers, and consumers.
The State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, together with the Government of the Russian Federation, will have to define the concepts governing the activities of digital tourism platforms, as well as the main directions of state regulation for the creation of a unified digital platform in the field of tourism.
In particular, we are talking about the platform Booking.com which, according to Sergey Boyarsky, head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, is necessary for Russian tourists in case of organizing foreign trips, moreover, it is also required for foreign citizens to visit our country. The legislator's words are quoted by TASS. Earlier, the Association of Travel Aggregators proposed to limit the return of foreign accommodation booking services to the Russian market, including Booking.com and Airbnb.
Meanwhile, a new travel aggregator will appear in Russia. As Wildberries founder and RVB head Tatiana Kim announced at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum today, the combined Wildberries & Rus company will complete work on a tourism-related platform by autumn. "First of all, there will be a standard set - everything that is necessary for this ecosystem. And then there will be an opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell. We also plan to make it possible later, together with regional governments, to attract investors to those points that need to be turned into points of expansion of tourism," she said.
