MPs Propose Establishing a Unified Register of Tourism Objects

A unified registry of all tourism-related objects is being proposed in Russia. The corresponding bill has been submitted to the State Duma. MPs suggest applying the existing hotel classification to all accommodation services that provide temporary lodging for tourists, including modular hotels and glamping sites. According to the authors of the legislative initiative, these facilities currently remain outside government scrutiny in terms of taxation and the quality of services provided by them.

The classification's purpose is to collect information about all accommodation services and include them in a unified register of objects involved in tourism activities, excluding facilities associated with children's recreation, religious pilgrimage, and rural tourism.

It is anticipated that only certified facilities included in the unified register will be able to provide services to tourists. Owners of tourist aggregators will be required to transmit to consumers information about the identifying number of the accommodation source in the unified register. Subjects of the Federation will obtain the authority to exercise regional state control over compliance with the object type and category requirements, as well as the accuracy of the information and advertising disseminated by them.

Should this law be adopted, accommodation facilities will submit their self-assessment of their compliance with the object type and mandatory requirement during the registry's initial stage. As a second step, this assessment must be confirmed by accredited experts.

Notably, the authors of the legislation emphasize that this work will help address issues related to the non-compliance of many hotels with their declared number of "stars" for quality services and room equipment.