Representatives of the tourism sector of Abkhazia and Russia discussed common problems

There was organized a telebridge between Russia and Abkhazia to discuss the experience of implementing the law on resort fee.

 Sukhum. August 2. Apsnypress. Madina Chagava. The representatives of the professional community of Abkhazia and Russia held a telebridge in the Sputnik Abkhazia press center, where they discussed the experience of implementing the law on resort fee.

 The president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Sergey Shpilko said that the resort fee in Russia should be introduced no later than May 1, 2018. I, This practice already exists in the Crimea, Krasnodar, Stavropol and Altai in experimental format.

  At the same time, Deputy Minister for Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Abkhazia Astamyr Akhba noted that for citizens of the Russian Federation and CIS countries the concept of "resort fee" is not new. "The resort fee was introduced in the USSR. And all citizens arriving in the resort towns and districts, paid a fixed fee. In Abkhazia, the law on resort fees was adopted in 2006. We have privileged categories of citizens who are exempt from payment, these are children under the age of 14 and invalids of 1 and 2 Groups as well as the person accompanying them and persons arriving in Abkhazia not for the purpose of tourism. According to the legislation, the resort fee in Abkhazia is about 30 rubles per day, "- Akhba said.

  According to Akhba, the law on resort fee is necessary, it was introduced to develop the infrastructure of tourist cities. "Accommodation of tourists gives an additional burden to municipalities, since tourists visit public places: parks, beach areas. Another difficult point is the placement of tourists in private accommodation. This business is often in the shadows, and it is difficult to identify it. This is partly facilitated by the simplified registration of individual accommodation facilities. Nevertheless, today the resort fee in Abkhazia is collected in collective accommodation facilities."

 Summing up his speech, Astamyr Akhba said: "I think the correct decision is the introduction of a resort holiday fee. If we correctly build and receive information, we will know the number of days of the tourist's stay and the visiting zones. Statistics of tourism is very complicated. And these figures are necessary for the state."