Tourist activity is a special type of entrepreneurial activity, which is associated with the organization of various forms of people leaving for a vacation from a permanent place of residence. This is done for recreational purposes, as well as to satisfy cognitive interests. At the same time, it is worth noting another important feature, in the place of rest people do not do any paid work, otherwise this can not be officially considered tourism.
Definition of the term
Tourism activities are regulated by Russian law. A special role in this is played by travel agencies or travel agencies. These are specialized organizations that actually become intermediaries between consumers (directly tourists) and suppliers of travel services (these include restaurants, hotels, transport organizations, organizers of excursions).
In tourism activities, it is tourism enterprises that are considered the main production units in this market. The need for them arises as soon as the consumer realizes that he is not able to independently provide for himself certain conditions. These conditions can be of several types:
- prolonged stay in another city or state in comfortable conditions;
- a trip to places with a high level of attendance (in this case, an independent tourist may not receive certain services available only to groups);
- a trip, which, in principle, can only be organized by a travel agency (for example, international travel in unpopular destinations);
- travel to several points at once using different types of transport.
the federal law
All tourism activities are regulated by federal law. It was adopted in 1996. The Law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation" regulates all situations that may occur in this market, establishes the rights and obligations of the parties. There are nine chapters in the document, which everyone who intends to do business in this area should be familiar with in detail.
Law 132 of the Federal Law "On the basics of tourism" defines the existing principles of state policy, which are aimed at establishing uniform rules of the game for all participants in this market, without exception. All these rules must strictly comply with Russian law.
The Federal Law "On the Basics of Tourism" regulates the relationships that arise when citizens exercise their civil rights to freedom of movement, leisure and other rights while traveling in Russia or outside the country. The same applies to representatives of foreign countries and stateless persons.
Also, the law "On the basics of tourist activity" defines in detail the procedure for the most rational use of tourist resources of the Russian Federation itself.
General principles and provisions
The very first chapter defines the general provisions that are necessary for an unambiguous interpretation of all concepts related to this area. The Law "On the Basics of Tourism" formulates key concepts: what is inbound, outbound, domestic, international and social tourism. As well as how to identify a tourist, tourist resources, industry, product, its implementation. What definitions include sightseers and guides, guides, instructors and guides. What rights and obligations they have are described in Law 132 "On the Basics of Tourism Activities".
Attention is also paid to such important definitions as emergency assistance, electronic voucher, navigation and orientation system, tourist route.
The second article of the law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation" contains the provisions of domestic law related to this area.
The second chapter is entirely devoted to state regulation of this activity. Law No. 132 "On the basics of tourism" sets forth the principles of state regulation of the tourism sector, the powers of state authorities, as well as the powers of entities. The rights of local governments are described, which are required to do everything possible to create the most favorable conditions conducive to the development of tourism. The federal law "On the basics of tourism" describes the goals, methods and priority directions in regulating this area, the conditions for the implementation of their work by tour operators, a unified register of tour operators, compiled at the federal level, as well as the classification of tourism industry objects.
How the law protects the tourist
Separately spelled out the rights and obligations of the tourist. The Law on Tourism Activities states that a tourist has the right to personal security, freedom of movement, access to communications, as well as a number of fundamental points. They should ensure a comfortable and safe stay.
At the same time, the tourist has enough responsibilities. According to the law "On the basics of tourist activity in the Russian Federation", they include the need to comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the tourist comes to rest, respect its customs, social structure and traditions. Be attentive and careful to the history, culture, natural monuments, observe the rules for leaving the country, as well as staying in transit states.
Travel Product Promotion
A separate chapter of the Federal Law No. 132 "On the basics of tourist activity" is devoted to the promotion of a tourist product, its implementation and formation features. Important attention is paid to the peculiarities of its implementation by travel agents, the requirements are formulated for the contracts that must be concluded to organize the transportation of tourists, and especially for the charter contract.
The law "On Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation" describes the features of the exchange of information between travel agents, operators and the tourist himself, and this exchange is mainly carried out in electronic form. The concept of an electronic ticket is introduced.
Chapter five of the law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation" describes the possible associations that exist in this area. It can be associations of travel agents, tour operators or tourists themselves, which is also common.
The law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation" regulates the association of tour operators who specialize in outbound tourism, their powers, authorized property, and the reserve fund of such an association. As well as the size and cost recovery options of this reserve fund. Particular attention in the law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation" is given to the personal liability fund, which must exist with the outbound tourism operator.
There are also tourist associations, their activities are regulated by this law and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation. A separate article on tourism resources.
Safety is the main thing
In the law "On the basics of tourism" an important chapter is the safety of tourism. It is described in detail how tour operators and travel agents should ensure the safety of direct consumers, which specialized security services exist.
The article on protecting the interests of domestic tourists who are outside the country describes how tour organizers should behave in the event of all kinds of emergency situations. The law "On the basics of tourism" defines the conditions for voluntary insurance of property interests of Russian tourists who go on vacation.
Important provisions determine the financial security of the responsibility of tourist operators at the time of the likely cancellation of the tour and other force majeure circumstances. Russian legislation establishes the amount of financial security, the existing grounds for making insurance payments, the procedure for making these payments, the provisions of the tour operator insurance liability agreement, reporting and accounting, which are required to conduct tourist activities.
International cooperation and state supervision
In the legal basis of international treaties in the field of tourism, all organizations should base their activities on the law, which is mainly devoted to our article.
Careful state supervision is carried out in this area, the final provisions are devoted to liability for violations of existing Russian legislation, and liability is also provided.
Main directions
The main areas of activity of tourism enterprises include regulation, development and support of activities in this area in the field of inbound, child, social and other types of tourism.
In our country, the main directions of state policy in this area include a whole list of factors that we will analyze separately.
- Attracting Russians to the most prudent and rational use of their free time on vacation, spending substantial leisure time, getting acquainted with the cultural and historical heritage of their and foreign countries, as well as their natural and animal environment.
- An important direction is ensuring the conservation and use of tourism resources, turning tourism into the most cost-effective and profitable sector of the modern economy, creating an effective system to meet the needs of both internal and external tourism.
- Improving the existing regulatory framework in the tourism industry so that it is consistent with modern and international legislation, all norms and rules.
- Protection of state interests in this area.
- Formation of a favorable currency, tax, border, customs, as well as other types of control that could contribute to the favorable development of the tourism industry.
- Creating favorable economic conditions that would contribute to the development of tourism in the country.
- The emergence of additional preferential conditions for the development of excursion and tourist work among not only adults, but also youth, adolescents, people with disabilities, as well as representatives of the poor.
- Attracting foreign and national investment in the development of the tourism industry.
- Formation of order for certification, standardization and licensing in the field of tourism.
- Implementation of a system of statistical reporting of all subjects of tourist activity.
- Creating equal opportunities for all participants in this market, regardless of the form and type of ownership of the enterprise, promoting equal competition, ensuring compliance with antitrust laws, and tough suppression of any type of violation.
- Ensuring the safety of tourists vacationing both inside the country and abroad, as well as protecting their property, rights and interests.
- The development and support of regional tourism, the formation of tourist centers that would have favorable conditions for the priority and successful development of this industry.
- The systematic development and organization of the scientific support system for this industry, the solution of issues of training and retraining, as well as advanced training for personnel working in this field.
- The development of cooperation with international and foreign organizations working in the same industry, as well as the conclusion of bilateral agreements in the tourism industry, determining the mechanism for their implementation.
In order to implement this policy in the field of tourism, further development of international and domestic tourism is being carried out, the authorities are also working on the most efficient use of historical, cultural and natural potentials that will help create a single and, importantly, competitive tourist complex.
Industry functions
Tourism in the Russian Federation today is one of the most promising and dynamically developing industries. Engaging in this business is not only profitable, but also important for the development of the entire state, providing its citizens with the opportunity to fully relax and develop.
After all, it is the tourism industry that performs the functions that are important for solving state tasks in the field of social policy. We will tell you in detail about the main functions of this industry.
- Cognitive and educational function allows you to replenish your own knowledge, replenish your existing supply of ideas about the world and the natural environment. It is thanks to tourism that one of the most educationally effective acquaintances with the history and culture of its region, country, as well as foreign countries, small and medium-sized peoples of other countries, takes place.
- The educational function helps the systematic formation of moral, moral and aesthetic qualities of a modern citizen, instilling in him love for the world around him.
- The cultural function helps to significantly increase the cultural level of citizens of the country, which affects the general level of education of the population.
- Wellness and relaxation function. The beneficial effect of nature on man helps him recover mentally, physically and emotionally. From a properly organized vacation, a person returns with a well-rested vacation, with renewed vigor in order to be productively involved in the work process, work more efficiently, demonstrating high productivity, unlike those who were not on vacation.
- Sports function. A large number of tourist programs are associated with strengthening the state of human health and its physical preparation. For example, this type of recreation includes hiking, kayaking, conquering mountain peaks.
- The socio-economic function contributes to the rational use of the citizen’s free time, and also promotes employment, the elimination of unemployment, and raising the standard of living in the country. All this serves as important factors in the development and stabilization of the national economy.
Summing up, it should be noted that in all countries on the planet, tourism plays an important role, occupying one of the leading places in the economy of the whole world. In a number of countries, this industry is officially the basis for the formation and replenishment of the local budget, the main article of national income, for example, Egypt, Cuba, Thailand.
If you believe the forecasts of economic analysts, in the near future the value and importance of the tourism industry in the global economy will only increase, this sector has very high, steady and stable rates of development.
Tourism at all times has been an important source for creating jobs in a variety of specialties - economic, humanitarian, advertising. In some states, up to 10 percent of residents are involved in this area.
Russia, of course, does not belong to such countries; in our state there are branches of the economy that bring a significantly greater profit to the budget than tourism. But at the same time, increased attention is paid to the development of this sphere. In some regions, mainly in the south of the country, tourism is considered the main regional economy.
Industry challenges
In modern Russia, tourism solves a number of critical tasks. The main one is the creation of a competitive market in which it would be comfortable for all its participants.
At the moment, fierce competition remains on the international market for tourism services. Many countries conduct aggressive advertising campaigns, attracting as many tourists as possible. Russia has its own characteristics that may interest certain potential tourists, but it is not easy to compete with states located to the south. In addition, the economic situation and the socio-economic situation in the state play their role in this.
In order to create a competitive tourist services market in Russia, a lot is being done.First of all, for this it is necessary to solve the problem of promoting a tourist product both on the domestic and foreign markets. For this, advertising and other information resources are used.
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The main problems in the tourism sector are primarily associated with the development of domestic tourism in the Russian regions. In most areas of the republics, it is not possible to develop inbound tourism because of a number of very specific everyday obstacles. This is a lack of high-level hotels and hostels, too high cost of the services provided, which also does not match their quality. These factors lead to the fact that residents of Russia often choose Turkish resorts instead of relaxing on the domestic Black Sea coast, because it is cheaper, more interesting and more comfortable there.
In general, the industry in the country suffers due to the low level of tourist culture, often an unsatisfactory level of service. The tourism infrastructure of Russia has yet to improve for a long time in order to become competitive and compete with many foreign resorts. For example, the problem is that a large number of hotels were built and equipped in the Soviet years, when the requirements for service and comfort of ordinary guests were many times lower. Today, many hotels require major repairs and quality improvements. Their appearance and the quality of the services provided do not correspond to generally recognized parameters. In addition, it is necessary not only to reconstruct old hotel complexes, but also to build new ones.
Enough unresolved problems in other areas. This is an unfavorable image of Russia in the eyes of foreigners, which only recently has been able to change for the better thanks to the Olympics and the World Cup. In addition, the country maintains a difficult visa regime, getting here for most foreigners is problematic.
Another factor is that in domestic tourism a little money is laid for advertising campaigns, a deficit is observed even in the number of modern and comfortable buses that should transport tourists. For foreign guests there is not enough information resources in foreign languages, first of all we are talking about maps, directories, street signs, booklets. The entertainment industry is not well developed, foreign citizens are often inadequately treated by customs officers and law enforcement officials, and the quality of service in Russian hotels is too poor, which often shock foreign guests.
Only by solving all these problems, the Russian tourism business can finally count on development, an increase in the flow of foreign guests, and interest on the part of compatriots to relax in Russian regions instead of going to foreign resorts, investing in the development of the economy of other countries.