The government is ready to conduct an experiment, allowing the authorities of the Crimea, Altai, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, to take the resort fee RUB 100 per each day of stay of visitors over the age of 18. The corresponding bill on Monday, April 17, approved the government Commission on legislative activities, to the materials of the Commission (have). The press service of the Ministry for North Caucasus Affairs, which developed the project, confirmed that following the discussion on the state Commission supported the introduction of the bill to the government for consideration, but with the light of the proposals.
The current version of the bill requires the broadest possible range of potential payers, including tourists who stop at individuals, and workers in the business, but excluding preferential categories of citizens, follows from the text of the bill (have) and sources familiar with the discussion of the initiative.
Aksenov told about the project of creating an offshore zone in Crimea
Not just the hotel
The resort fee will be charged in “units” of immigrants, it follows from the text of the bill. And the accommodation proposed to consider not only the official hotels and accommodations, “designed to provide hotel services and services for temporary collective or individual placement or provision of temporary accommodation”, but also buildings and premises, “which in fact provide such services,” the document says. To levy a charge on visitors to the proposed hotels and individual entrepreneurs registered in the tax office to individuals who provide the hotel facilities or services for temporary accommodation of immigrants (including temporary provision for their use of residential premises, including in private homes). Such individual entrepreneurs and physical persons, as well as hotels will become “operators resort fee”. They will be required not only to charge fees from visitors, but also to list them in regional budgets. The regional authorities will include such operators in a special register and will be obliged to regularly report on the received and remitted to the budget fees.
To pay the fee should all the people who are in “places of accommodation” (hotels, apartments and private homes) for more than 24 hours, with the exception of beneficiaries of the bill. Exempt from resort fee proposed, in particular, Heroes of the USSR and Russia, full gentlemen of order of Glory, participants and invalids of the Patriotic war, Chernobyl, the Semipalatinsk and invalids I and II groups and children up to 18 years and students. In addition, cost is not supposed to charge people who live and work in the territory of the experiment, and also have there own housing. Regional authorities will have the right to expand the list of beneficiaries.
To prove the benefits visitors will need, providing the originals of the relevant documents “operators resort fee” the hotel employees and entrepreneurs, as well as owners taken their apartments or houses. Those will have to separately report to authorities of such beneficiaries. In confirmation of payment of the fee the visitor must obtain a special document from the operator of the Assembly. This document will be issued to him at the end of the stay at “property”, to the bill. The document implies the introduction of liability for breach of the law on the resort fee — it will be established by special laws of the regions will host the experiment.
It is assumed that the experiment on the introduction of resort gathering will last for five years from 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2022. Maximum amount of the payment proposed to be set at 100 rubles. for each day, but depending on season, duration of stay in the resort, the value and location of the resort is the amount of the levy will be permitted to be reduced to zero. For example, the Minister of resorts and tourism of Crimea Sergey strelbitskiy said in February that the Crimea proposes to limit the collection period three summer months, passed the “RIA Novosti”.
The exact amount of the levy and the procedure for its payment and the category of citizens who will be able to stay in the resort areas free of charge, establish the authorities resort regions. Fees from tourists will come in the budgets of the regions and through a specially created budget funds directed to the development of resort infrastructure. At the end of the experiment in 2023, the government will have to make a conclusion about expediency of introduction of resort fees on all territory of Russia, to be submitted to the Federation Council and the state Duma.
All visitors
In the case of the adoption of the law will fall not only tourists but also business travelers as well as athletes who train at the sport facilities in Sochi, said a source who attended the meeting of the state Commission. Some participants even feared that because of the experiment reduced representation, in particular at the Sochi economic forum — day officials a little longer than expected resort fee, said the source .
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Yevgeny Bushmin (one of the authors of the initiative the introduction of resort fees in 2014) confirmed information about the fact that the discussed resort fee will apply to any visitors. “Including on business trip”, — he said in conversation with . The fact that the resort fee could be extended to a wider category of citizens, not only tourists, also confirmed a source in the tourism market. “It’s being discussed,” he said.
“One of the proposals presented at the meeting of the state Commission concerned the list of persons exempt from the resort fee. The issue along with other proposals currently being worked out”, — said the press service of the Minkowksi.
Although the bill was approved, the state Commission acknowledged the arguments of critics serious, responsible project officials from the government Department of culture and Minkowksi mandated to consult on the bill with the accounts chamber, the source says . In addition, according to him, the Department of culture is mandated to report the remarks to the bill, the Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets.
Chapter Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksenov said that supports charging a resort fee, but sees the problem with his administration. “Identification of tourist is difficult enough. Where to identify it? In the accommodation facilities? I agree, if they give data and in the cost of their services include resort fee. […] At the airport to ask where the man came — he says that a visit to the family arrived,” said Feldman. Thus, in his opinion, to charge the resort fee on all visitors should not be. “This is wrong,” — said the politician.
How much is collected from tourists abroad
New York city tax is at 13.25% of the room rate, plus $2 per night.
In Vienna, a city tax of 3,2% of the room rate will be charged for the first three months of stay in the city. From tax exempt minors and youth living in hostels.
In Amsterdam and Berlin tourist tax is 5% of the room rate per day. While in the German capital the fee in the first three weeks of stay in the city.
In Prague, the rate of local tax is 15 CZK (35 rubles) per person for each day of stay, except day of arrival. From tax exempt people under 18 and over 70 years.
In Lisbon a tax of €1 per day is charged for the first seven days of stay, children up to 18 years from paying it are also exempt.
The Brussels city tax varies from €2.15 to €8.75 per day, depending on living conditions.
In Bern tourist tax consists of three parts: tax rates (1 franc), transport fee (1,5 Frank) and resort fee. A resort fee for hotels and apartments vary from 2.5 to 6 francs for dormitories and hostels from 1.25 to 3 francs. In this case the payment of the transport fee entitles you to a travel that provides free Shuttle service to the airport, and travel by public transport in the centre of Bern. Children under 6 years are exempted from all payments.
Tour operators doubt
Representatives of the tourism industry, the respondents belong to the initiative with skepticism. Any increase in prices affects the consumer — especially now that tourism has again started to build momentum, including due to the opening of Turkey, the Vice-President of the Association of tour operators of Russia Dmitry Gorin.
Resort fee valid in some countries, but for Russians with their current trend of saving is not a good idea, confirms the Director of public relations of the company “Tez Tour Russia” Larissa Akhanov. Now tourists are willing to go to another Agency due to the difference in price of packaged tour just RUB 1 thousand each And the fee for a family of several people or, for example, to come to a Spa treatment in Stavropol Krai may reach “a substantial amount”, says Akhanov. The average ticket for treatment is 21 days, she recalls.
As stated by the representative of the Federal tourism Agency, resort fee “in size should not be a burden for tourists, and in any case not lead to any tangible increase in the cost of the tourist product”. In addition, it is important to make a mechanism for the collection, accounting and use of funds is completely transparent: the tourists have to understand where paid their money, and to see a clear result, said the representative of the Agency, Recalling that the purpose of the collection — improving the tourist infrastructure. The initiative would work if the money collected from tourists will be channelled towards infrastructure development in the regions — now the Russian resorts really need it, says CEO “Pegas Touristik” Anna Podgornaya.
According to estimates by Dmitry Gorin, the General Director of the Agency Pososhok.ru Cyril Faminskii, now about 40% of travelers book hotels and tickets independently. Thus, according to Faminskii, if we are not talking about curpagenum vacation, to administer the resort fee is difficult. In the tourist areas is well developed private informal sector, which pays no taxes and will not charge tourists a fee, adds the head of Department of development of tourist services “Coherent trevel” Andrey Osintsev. Changes can only affect the choice of traditional means of accommodation when planning a holiday, concludes Osintsev.
“There is a reasonable risk that the share of the organized tourism will begin to decline. People in order to save will choose to go to relax yourself, removing the “bed” grandmothers,” admits the General Director of the National tourist company “Intourist” Victor Topolkaraev. In his opinion, “to raise funds for the development of resorts, please”, but perhaps in other ways. In particular, due to “encourage the formation and purchasing package tours,” says a top Manager. Due to the fact that the chain of provision of such services fully transparent, in the short term, it “will allow to increase total amount of taxes collected from tourism at both the Federal and regional levels”, said Topolkaraev.
The number of tourists in Crimea at the end of 2016 increased by 21.2% compared to 2015 year to 5.57 million people, and the resorts of the Krasnodar territory took about 15.8 million people, according to local authorities. Altai Krai, according to official statistics, was visited by 2 million tourists, and Stavropol — 1.3 million At the same time, according to statistics Pososhok.ru average length of stay at the resorts amounted to seven days and travel to three or four days. According to the “Intourist”, the most popular tour lasts ten days.
With the participation of Galina Kazakunova, Anton Feinberg, Irina Parfentyeva, Vladimir Dergacheva
