In Russia, they introduced a tax on holidays. How much will you pay and how can you save. Tourist taxes in different countries of the world. Dossier Bulgaria charges a resort fee of 5 euros

Away is good, but at home ... we are waiting for the resort fee. The innovation interested the Russians: it is still unknown how much the tax will cost, where the proceeds will go, and where exactly you can relax cheaply. After 2018, the tax will only increase. Read about it in the article "Resort fee 2018". We became interested in the possibility of a holiday abroad, so we organized our own study in the foreign tourism sector.

Good luck: how much does a vacation abroad cost

Officially, this type of payments received from citizens of another state is called a tourist tax. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the initiative of the Russian government is a “novelty”. Another thing is that resort fees for their own citizens (subjects) are not practiced in all countries, namely in 14 EU states.

Regional development experts report that such a tax may be hidden in payments for obtaining a visa, various state fees associated with the movement of citizens and foreign residents. Consideration was given to ways in which the tourist tax could be levied through hotels and places where travelers stay.

However, a separate line "resort fee" exists only for countries - serious players in the tourism market. These include Spain, Italy or France. They do not disdain to "take more" from tourists in Holland, Bulgaria and Croatia. See below for a full list of countries that charge a resort fee.

One thing is important - all countries that actively promote the need for this type of tax collection receive a significant part of their income from the pockets of travelers.

And people know, they know what they are paying for: there are a lot of interesting places in Europe and the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Any destination is equipped with signs in one of the most common languages, which may be native to a visitor to foreign lands. There is a well-thought-out system of routes for tourists, specially trained guides work in the cities.

Another question is whether the resort tax in Russia will justify itself. Do you know where you can relax, how much it will cost you, and how to make your trip as vivid and memorable as possible? Read about it in the article "Regions of the resort fee".

Resort fee for 1 night	A country
from 0.25 € to 2 €	Spain
from 0.35€ to 5€	Italy
from 0.20 € to 200 €	France
from 0.25 € to 5 €	Germany
from 0.55 € to 4.76 €	Holland
from 0.15 € - 2.18 €	Austria
0.5 € to 1.5 €	Belgium
0.5 € to 1.5 €	Bulgaria
1 €	Czech
from 0.25 € to 1 €	Croatia
1,5 €	Hungary
from 0.3 € to 0.6 €	Lithuania
0,5 €	Romania
0,5 € - 1,65 €.	Slovakia
from 0.6 € to 1.25 €	Slovenia
3,5	Malta
By agreement	Switzerland
About 3$	USA
2 €	Tunisia
25 €	Egypt
9 to 36	Morocco
up to 10 €	Maldives
12 €	Thailand
22 €	Cuba

Found an error? Tell us how much you paid

Additional costs will be required for:

• Rental payments (which do not include the so-called "resort fee")
• Accommodation and moving around the city
• Preparation of related documents
• Search for reators, guides, and attendants

And remember - in Europe, the USA and other developed countries, you have to pay for everything. Therefore, the tourism tax does not seem to be a serious expense item, among other expenses for staying in a foreign country.

Where there is no tourist tax: we do not see such countries as Britain, as well as other members of the United Kingdom, on the list of those wishing to replenish the treasury with the help of foreign direct injections; many island states and archipelagos missed the opportunity to cash in on tourists. Asia, although more demanding on "forings" (from the word foreign - foreign), also does not disclose official data on direct and indirect taxes for foreign residents.

Do you know more? Then tell about it in "Resort fee reviews"

Rest in the CIS: resort tax in Belarus

Among the CIS countries, there are actually not many options for cheap holidays. On the contrary, the tourism sector is one of the main channels for the inflow of additional capital. Neighboring countries do not hesitate to take taxes even from former fellow citizens. But they can be understood: the widespread monetization of any industry is a necessary measure to stay afloat.

How is the situation in Belarus?

One of the most beautiful places on earth - Belarus - is covered with forests and steppe, rivers and fields. In the capital of the state - Minsk - there are many architectural monuments that are familiar to us only from pictures.

This is one of the main historical centers of Eastern Europe. For Russians, there are many interesting, convenient and useful things here. The main advantage of Belarus over the rest of the CIS countries is the use of a local related language, as well as Russian speech, which is native to our citizens.

The resort fee in Belarus will cost a tourist about $40. Often this tax is charged as a percentage. The operators are hotels and sanatoriums, it is also planned in Russia.

How much does it cost to go to the sea: resort fee in Greece

Greece is considered to be one of the main tourist centers. People from all over the world want to touch the history of ancient times, explore the sea coast and taste the local cuisine. The Russians were no exception - for them, Greece, and in particular Athens, and other less popular recreation areas in this region, has become the main destination.

We know perfectly well that the Greek economy is not in the best condition. Maintaining relative stability within the country, the Greeks themselves are not averse to taking "a string" from each visitor.

That is why we have the following payment scheme depending on the type of hotel or hotel.

Attention: the "resort fee in Greece" is indicated, not the cost of the hotel.

It is charged separately

Conclusion

Attracting new funds at the expense of foreign tourists is becoming a widespread practice. Today there is not a single state with significant cultural and natural objects that would not charge a resort fee. Therefore, we should understand this legislative initiative in a useful way, hoping that tourism will really rise to the right level in our native lands.

Disagree with the thesis? Leave your "Resort fee reviews"

The development of the tourism industry and the growth of state revenues from tourism require large financial costs for the creation and maintenance of the functionality of the entire tourism infrastructure of the regions. To facilitate the solution of issues of organizing tourism and recreation for citizens, the Federal Law of Russia introduced a resort fee, which is a mandatory tax for each vacationer. For the first four years, this fee is introduced as an experiment, giving the regions the right to set its size and preferential categories of citizens on their own.

What is a resort fee

The additional daily tax for individuals is called the resort fee. If this Federal Law is approved, it will become mandatory for all citizens of Russia, foreign countries who want to spend their holidays in Russian resorts. It is assumed that the funds from this tax will go to special regional funds for the development of tourism infrastructure in each region. The planning of the receipt and expenditure of these funds is entrusted to the regional budgets.

Foreign holiday tax

There is no such fee for citizens of their country in any country in the world. There is a fee for visiting foreigners, but this is not a direct resort tax, but rather a fee for a visa - the right to enter the country. Recently, there has been a decline in the tourism industry around the world. Countries that are in demand among Russian tourists are canceling additional payments to vacationers in an effort to attract tourists. In star resorts, an additional fee is introduced only in four- and five-star hotels for the use of luxury services - sun loungers, mattresses or bar service on the beach.

Resort tax in Russia

The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted the Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 No. 214-FZ - “On conducting an experiment on the development of resort infrastructure in the Republic of Crimea, Altai Territory, Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol Territory”. This law will have to be approved by the Upper House of Parliament and signed by the President of Russia. The attitude of the majority of citizens to the new tax is quite understandable - few people like to give an additional 3,000 rubles for a two-week vacation for a family of 2 people.

When will the fee be introduced

The resort tax is introduced as an experiment from May 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. After that, the expansion of the tax to the entire territory of Russia is predicted. When calculating its amount and the length of stay of vacationers, the first day of arrival is not taken into account. The tax will be collected by enterprises and entrepreneurs providing accommodation services, and these funds will be deposited into the account of a special fund under the regional budget. According to experts, at a rate of 50 rubles, a rest period of 14 days and the current load of resorts, the tax can replenish the budgets of the regions:

• Republic of Crimea - 16.4 billion rubles;
• Stavropol Territory - 2.02 billion rubles;
• Krasnodar Territory - 8.3 billion rubles.

Where will be introduced

According to the bill, the tourist tax in Russia will be experimentally introduced for four regions - the Republic of Crimea, Altai, Stavropol, Krasnodar Territories. The “tourism tax” will be collected by the operators of the resort tax, which will have to be enterprises and entrepreneurs providing collective and individual hotel services, temporary accommodation in residential premises. The law reserves the right for the regions to withdraw from this experiment.

Who will pay

Tourist tax in Russia will be paid by all individuals over 18 years of age who vacation in resorts, use infrastructure, live in hotels, holiday homes, sanatoriums or the private sector for more than 1 day. The law establishes the main preferential categories that are exempted from its payment.. At the same time, the regions have the right to independently establish other preferential categories. According to the Law, they include 19 categories of citizens, including:

• disabled people;
• war veterans;
• low-income and large families;
• persons permanently residing in these regions;
• having a place of residence in the resort area;
• having the right to own housing.

Size

The law provides for a maximum resort fee of 50 rubles for 2019 and 100 rubles in subsequent years. According to the rules of the experiment, the regions are given the right to set the amount of the fee themselves, reducing it (even to zero) for the low season. The law prohibits adding this additional tax to the amount of accommodation fees or the cost of vouchers. The resort tax cannot be claimed from the vacationer after his departure from the hotel or other place of residence.

Different types of differentiation of the fee amount are possible - a higher rate for the first 5-7 days with a decrease for subsequent days of rest, a decrease in the rate to attract tourists to individual resort cities. By varying the rate of this fee, the region will be able to redirect the flow of tourists during the peak season from places of mass influx of tourists to less busy resort areas. The fee will not apply to "savages" who will come with their own accommodation - tents, trailers.

Where will the money go

A special fund is being created for each region. Regional Councils must independently determine the municipal organizations to which the tourist tax from vacationers will be paid. It is planned to use the received financial resources to update the resort infrastructure, maintain historical monuments, architecture, construction, improvement of new parks, beaches, places of public recreation.

Video

Charging tourists an additional fee for the premises of the city is not new. This rule has been in place for many years in many places attractive to travelers. How much do the most popular destinations cost Russian tourists?

Tourist tax exists in many countries of the world. The price tag for staying in different parts of the world is set individually depending on the state or even a specific city. As a rule, we are talking about a small amount, but you will have to pay it for every day that a tourist spends in a foreign country.

The authorities of the island decided to introduce as many as two tourist taxes. One, as in many parts of the world, for every day of stay on the island. It will cost tourists from 2.5 to 10 dollars, the decisive indicator is the category of the hotel where the vacationer is staying. The new rule came into effect on June 30, and hoteliers found out about it at the very last moment, let alone tourists. The second tax will be introduced in October. For departure from the country (!) you will have to pay 70 dollars, the money will go to the development of air travel and tourism

The authorities of Barbados will introduce as many as two tourist taxes. Image: Olga Akimova

Vilnius authorities. The new rules oblige all foreigners who come to the city from other countries to pay about one euro for every day spent in the capital. The exact amount of the contribution will depend on the cost of housing. The more expensive the room in which the tourist is staying, the more he will have to pay tax contributions to the budget of Vilnius.

Not everyone will be asked to pay. Benefits are available to minors and the disabled. You need to pay directly to hotels or owners of housing that is rented out. And then they will transfer this money to the city budget.

In Lithuania, the tax is included in the hotel bill. Image: pixabay.com

The capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, ​​will cost the tourist a symbolic 0.45 - 2.25 euros for each day of stay. If you stay in any nearby town, which are located very close and have excellent transport accessibility, then the cost of the tax will be several times cheaper.

By the way, you will have to pay for visiting not only Catalonia, but also the islands popular with Russian tourists - Mallorca, Ibiza and others. As soon as a tourist turns 14, he must contribute 2 euros to the city budget for each overnight stay during the first nine days. Then the fee will be halved. There is another option to save money: go on vacation during the unpopular season from November to March. The amount of tax at this time is reduced by 50 percent.

In Catalonia, a very small tax is required from tourists. Image: REUTERS

Italian authorities levy an additional tax in dozens of cities. Image: Tony Gentile/Reuters

Italy collects a tax from tourists in 25 of its cities and resort areas. Of course, the most popular destinations were among them: Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Genoa, Sardinia and others. A visit to the fashion capital will cost 7 euros per person. Children are given individual discounts, but their size depends on the city authorities.

France has long practiced the collection of tourist taxes. Since 1910, the authorities have come up with the idea of ​​attracting additional funds to the treasury in this way. Additional expenses awaited travelers depending on the time of year and the city in which they arrive.

Until recently, the tax rate was almost minimal and amounted to 0.2-1.5 euros per day, but it was decided to increase it to 8 euros per person. Not everyone pays taxes. It is allowed not to take payment from minors, seasonal migrants and those who came to the country for part-time work.

For visiting Paris and other cities you will have to pay 8 euros. Image: REUTERS

In Brussels, the city tax will cost from 2.15 to 8.75 euros. Its value, as in many other countries, is affected by the cost of a hotel room booked by a vacationer. A fee will be added to the invoice amount, which is subject to transfer to the country's budget.

The famous Manneken Pis is one of the reasons why tourists pay taxes to the Belgian treasury. Image: KP

The tax for visiting Amsterdam is one of the highest. It ranges from 6 to 10 euros. Such a fee, according to the authorities, helps to improve the quality of the tourist flow to the country. They want to get rid of tourists who came for the weekend and stare at the red light district. And in their place to attract wealthier people who stay in Amsterdam for a week or more, live in good hotels, eat in expensive restaurants and visit local attractions. If the increase in the fee will bring results, then the tax may increase by two times.

A huge tourist flow to the red light district began to strain the authorities of Amsterdam. Image: REUTERS

Taxes in different states of the country are also different, but no matter where the traveler decides to go, it is worth remembering that information about additional expenses will always be a surprise for him. Hotels do not report additional taxes, and it is almost impossible to find information about them on the booking site. The size of the tax in the United States is very tangible. On average, it is 13.5 - 17 percent of the room rate.

In New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, fees can start from $20 per night, and Las Vegas is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world in terms of resort fees. Here, in addition to the tourist tax rate, additional "taxes on taxes" may occur.

Traveling to New York "weighs" the tourist's bill by at least $20 per day. Image: KP

In 2018, the tourist tax in our country was introduced as a pilot project. It was decided that it would be introduced in four resort regions of the country: Krasnodar, Stavropol, Altai Territories and Crimea. But at the last moment, the authorities of the peninsula abandoned the novelty and decided to postpone the experiment for a year.

In three regions, the authorities have set a tariff for collecting at the level of 50 rubles per day per person. Less is possible, more is impossible. It is paid by the guests of hotels, sanatoriums, rest houses and other accommodation facilities upon departure. For the time being, it was decided not to charge additional fees for children. By the way, many vacationers admit that so far the tax is valid only on paper. In fact, no one charges extra from guests in the Krasnodar Territory.

This year, the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory also began to charge a resort fee from vacationers. Image: Evgenia GUSEVA/KP

Today, the State Duma will consider in the first reading a bill on levying an additional fee from vacationers

The Russian government proposes starting next year to launch an experiment on the collection of a mandatory tourist tax of 100 rubles per person per day. The corresponding bill will be considered today in the first reading in the State Duma. Parliamentarians and the tourist industry fear that the new tax will reduce the popularity of Russian resorts.

Stanitsa Golubitskaya is not Paris

The bill introduced by the Government proposes to conduct an experiment on the collection of resort fees from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2022 in four regions - Crimea, Altai, Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories. Deputy Minister for North Caucasus Affairs Oleg Khatsaev on June 22 at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy said that the collection would go to the regional budget.

The funds received will be concentrated in the fund, the money from which can only go to the construction or repair of resort infrastructure. A number of categories of citizens will be exempted from paying the fee, while the regions will be able to introduce their own benefits. Oleg Khatsaev stressed that the idea of ​​levying a resort fee is in line with international practice and that the implementation of the bill will not require any costs from the federal budget.

The head of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy, deputy head of the LDPR faction Yaroslav Nilov, unlike the deputy minister, is sure that the new functions will entail costs from the federal budget. He drew attention to the fact that problems may arise during the implementation of the bill. The main one is that the private sector “drops out” of the legal field and the main tax burden will fall on hotels, boarding houses and sanatoriums, which will eventually be forced to raise prices for tours.

“Today, Turkey is demonstrating an aggressive policy and even dumping to attract more and more Russian tourists, while Russia is not actively competing with both Turkey, Asia and Europe,” Yaroslav Nilov said.

Europe also has a resort fee, Yaroslav Nilov agreed. “But it is impossible to compare the centers of world tourism, such as Rome, Paris, Courchevel, and, for example, the village of Golubitskaya in the Krasnodar Territory, where the level of tourists is completely different,” the deputy argued.

If the fee reduces the tourist flow, other tax revenues will also decrease - VAT, income tax. FNPR representative Viktor Shmakov drew attention to this and called the resort fee "a tax on legal business." He also finds the question of control over the payment of the fee interesting. Will police officers walk along the beach and ask citizens for certificates of tax payment? So far, the mechanism for collecting the fee has not been determined.

2 billion rubles will be the amount of resort fees in the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody for 5 years with a fee of 50 rubles

Oleg Khatsaev agreed that there is a risk of an outflow of tourists. But in general, from his point of view, the outflow will be even greater if the resort fee is not introduced today and if the collected money is not used to create modern infrastructure in Russian resorts.

“In two or three years we will see the results of the implementation of the bill,” promised the Deputy Minister for the North Caucasus. How much money can be collected depends on what rate the region sets. According to preliminary estimates, one billion rubles a year will be released in the Stavropol Territory. If a resort fee of 50 rubles per person per day is introduced in the Caucasian Mineral Waters, then approximately two billion rubles will be collected in five years, the ministry calculated.

The fee must be one-time and go to the local budget

Sergey Shpilko, chairman of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, member of the board of the RSPP, believes that it is difficult to find a more untimely moment for the introduction of a resort fee: in 2017, 27 percent more Russians went abroad than last year, there is a decrease in demand for Russian southern resorts.

Shpilko proposed to postpone the entry into force of the law until the completion of the mandatory classification of hotels, boarding houses and other accommodation facilities, which should be completed before 2021. The Russian Union of the Travel Industry also advocates that the fee be a one-time payment - as a single payment for one check-in, regardless of the time a person stays at the resort. By the way, just such a one-time fee exists in Europe.

Most of the committee meeting participants agreed that the collection should go not to the regional, but to the local budget, because this tax will be used to develop the infrastructure of the municipality. But the draft law proposes the creation of special funds subordinate to the highest executive authority of the subject, and the municipalities are left out. “It turns out such a situation: the fund is pumped up, the municipalities do not receive anything, and the governor distributes the funds at his own discretion,” said Yaroslav Nilov. “There is potential for abuse here.”

The result of the implementation of the bill, if adopted, will be negative, Oleg Shein, a Just Russia deputy, is sure. He recalled that the resort fee was already in place and was abolished in 2004 because the costs of its administration exceeded the potential income that could be. In addition, it is proposed to introduce too high a tax on holidays - on a par with Europe. But in Europe, the resort fee depends on the level of the hotel, and European salaries are several times higher than Russian ones.

The Federation Council proposes to transfer the decision on the resort fee to the regional level

The Labor and Social Policy Committee believes that the draft law needs serious revision, taking into account the analysis of social consequences and economic risks. Also, the committee considers it necessary to take into account the provisions of the bill introduced on June 20 by the deputy head of the Communist Party faction Nikolai Kolomeitsev.

He proposed to charge a resort fee not from tourists, but from legal entities and entrepreneurs - at a rate of 0.01 to 0.1 percent of income from the sale of tourist services. What will be the tax, the municipal authorities should decide, the deputy considers. According to his calculations, the annual revenues to the budget from the introduction of such a tax will amount to 4.23 billion rubles for the Krasnodar Territory, 1.3 billion for the Stavropol Territory, 0.97 billion for the Altai Territory and 0.47 billion rubles for the Crimea.

It is likely that a heated discussion will unfold around the bill at the plenary session. On June 21, the initiative was considered at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes. The bill was approved, although the head of the committee, Andrei Makarov, called it "illiterate." Committee members noted that it is impossible to understand from the text of the bill whether the region has the opportunity to refuse to conduct the experiment. The mechanism for paying the fee raised questions, as well as why the tax would go to the regional budget.

The Federation Council also believes that the document needs to be finalized. “The bill sends a bad signal to business, but at the same time there are not enough funds for infrastructure development,” said Valery Ryazansky, head of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy. He supports the concept of the bill, but he is sure that the regions should be given the right to determine the timing and necessity of the experiment, as well as the procedure for collecting the tax.

Photo: irinariviera/Shutterstock.com

Russia is introducing a system for tourists that has long been used abroad - the so-called resort tax. Starting next year, it will be charged in four regions. However, in some respects, Russian practice will differ from foreign practice, and not necessarily for the better.

The State Duma approved in the first reading a bill on the introduction of resort fees in Russia. It is assumed that the experiment will be carried out from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2023 in the territories of the Crimea, Altai, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. If it is considered successful, then the resort tax will be introduced on a permanent basis throughout the country.

Tourists who stay more than a day in a hotel, sanatorium or private hotel will pay the fee. Hotels will also collect the fee. Even athletes, for example, those who train in Sochi, will have to pay. But privileged categories of citizens are exempted from paying the fee.

The regions themselves will have to bear the costs associated with the experiment. The decision on the amount of the resort fee, the procedure and the deadline for its payment is also given to the regional authorities. However, the amount of the fee cannot exceed 100 rubles per person per day of stay at the hotel. The money will be received by the regional budgets.

In the explanatory note, it was calculated that over the five years of the resort fee, the Stavropol Territory will receive an additional 2 billion rubles, the Krasnodar Territory - 8.3 billion rubles, the Republic of Crimea - 16.4 billion rubles. The total tourist flow of the region was taken into account with an annual growth of 5%, the average duration of rest was 14 days and the resort fee was 50 rubles per day.

However, the bill is still to be finalized. Thus, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin proposes that part of the collection - 50-70% - be given not to regional, but to municipal budgets.

Russian legislators have actually adopted the experience of Western countries. “The resort tax being introduced in Russia is a complete analog of the fee that is levied in Europe and in some US cities. Only the amount and the method of its calculation differ: somewhere a fixed amount is taken, as it is supposed to be done in Russia, somewhere the amount of the fee is tied to the star rating of the hotel, ”says Dmitry Zelenin, general director of the St. Petersburg club Journey.

For example, according to him, in Italy the amount of the fee varies depending on the category of the hotel, while in the ski resorts of Austria the resort fee is a fixed amount, regardless of which hotel the tourist lives in. For travel agents and tourists, in his opinion, a fixed fee is more convenient, since it is not necessary to calculate it in a new way every time.

In Italy, the fee is determined depending on the popularity among tourists, as well as the age of the city itself, points out Kirill Yakovenko from Alor Broker. In Rimini, for example, the tourist tax is 1.5 euros per person per day, and in Venice - 3 euros. “In Venice, houses are on the water, in general, there is a very complex sewerage system, utilities work in special conditions. And it is much more expensive to maintain architectural monuments there than in other cities,” says Yakovenko.

Sergei Romashkin, director of the Dolphin travel agency specializing in domestic tourism, believes that the amount of the fee in Russia still needs to be differentiated depending on the cost of living. Otherwise, it turns out that a tourist living in a five-star hotel for 10 thousand rubles a day will not even notice the fee of 100 rubles (this is only 1%). And for a tourist living in a room for 1 thousand rubles, a fee of 100 rubles will already be 10% of his expenses.

There is another important difference between the Russian system and the European one. There, the municipalities receive all the proceeds from the fees, and the fee is called the municipal fee. Whereas in Russia the income from fees will be given to the regional budgets. “Initially, Vladimir Putin at the State Council said that the tourist tax should go to the municipalities to improve the lives of tourists, that is, for flowers, paths, and landscaping. However, now they have decided to give the proceeds from tourists to the regional budgets, and only 50% will be left to the municipalities (if such amendments are accepted - approx. VIEW), - says Sergey Romashkin. – At the same time, we have significantly expanded the possibilities for using these funds, including allowing them to be spent on network infrastructure, sewerage, heat, etc., where money can be buried. But tourists will not even notice investments in network infrastructure, it will not improve the life of visitors.” In his opinion, it is necessary to return the income from the fee to the municipalities and again narrow the list of types of services and works that can be carried out on the income from resort fees.

“The budgets of the municipalities are extremely meager, and if the collection goes exactly to their piggy bank, then the municipalities will have an incentive to attract tourists, which they are not doing now, because anyway, most of the tourist income goes to the region’s budget,” Yakovenko agrees.

Transparency in the use of fees charged is also important. “If you position the collection of fees as a fee that will be used to create a favorable infrastructure and to preserve natural and cultural objects, then people will pay it with a greater understanding of the benefits, and not with the idea that in this way the government decided to rob the population again,” – Yakovenko says. “The best thing that can be done with the resort fee is to ensure full transparency and visibility of the use of the collected funds. So that every tourist and resort resident understands what the funds were spent on,” Dmitry Zelenin agrees.

Whether the resort fee will scare away tourists is a debatable issue. “I do not believe that the resort fee will somehow affect the flow of tourists to Russian resorts. In fact, it is from 1% to 3% of the cost of the tour,” says Dmitry Zelenin. In addition, the ruble began to weaken again, which returns the attractiveness of Russian resorts compared to the more expensive foreign countries.

And, of course, there is a problem with the administration of the collection, the procedure for which is not yet spelled out in the draft law. Some tour operators are sure that the costs of administering the collection will generally exceed the income from it.

There are also risks of creating an uneven playing field for businesses. If large hotels and health resorts regularly collect the resort fee from tourists, then private guest houses, which are already in the gray zone and pay only a few percent of real revenue, will try to evade paying the resort fee as well, says Romashkin. “Besides, legal entities already have to pay more only for utilities. Private houses pay 2.5 times less for electricity and 10 times less for water than hotels - legal entities,” he adds.

Text: Olga Samofalova