The Ministry of Finance wants to cut off the Russian tourism industry on takeoff
The Russian Ministry of Finance wants to increase the subsidized rate for the tourism industry to an unaffordable 5%.
This freezes existing projects and jeopardizes the implementation of the program for the development of domestic tourism in the country, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
At the plenary session “Travel to the East: opportunities for investors and tourists” within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, General Director of Vasta Discovery LLC Sergei Bachin, who was involved in the construction of tourist facilities in Sochi for the 2014 Olympics, emphasized that the current government decree provides for the possibility subsidizing rates from 3 to 5%.
“We all pushed through this resolution together for a long time, and two years ago the opportunity finally arose for relatively cheap capital for the tourism industry,” Now we hear that the Ministry of Finance is developing a comment to this resolution and that 5% is the point. That is, it is no longer a range.
And again it turns out that, for example, there is no budget for the next year and the one after that. And then how can Rostourism fulfill its conditions? Do I have to go somewhere and beg or get something? This is also strange, because if we go on a journey, probably one of the most important qualities is trust in each other and the principle of stability. You can’t go on the road and change your working conditions two years later.”
Foreign experience suggests subsidizing similar projects at 1-2%, and this norm extends for decades. In the Russian economy, the same procedure applies to the agricultural industry, which has made it possible, with subsidies of 1-2%, to fill store shelves with domestic products by 10% in almost 95 years.
“In the tourism industry, we have only taken one or two steps, and for some reason, “let’s see, maybe the tourism industry has become fat, is it standing on its feet?” - This is a baby that hasn’t even given us projects yet. At 3,51% per annum, we are only in the construction phase, we haven’t even built it yet, but we won’t even be able to complete the construction if they start throwing us up now - Help Rostourism, fill it with the budget so that the decisions that have already been made are adequate continued to work."
A preferential bank rate with compensation from the state should provide 26 thousand new hotel rooms by 2025. Raising the rate will freeze already started projects, and Rostourism will not be able to achieve program indicators.
“I really want to support the interest rate,” said the head of Rostourism, Zarina Doguzova. – From Rostourism I confirm that today this is the most popular tool for supporting investment in tourism. In our country, not a single capital-intensive project can be implemented within the required time frame. Indeed, we are talking about fixing 5%. We insist that it is necessary to leave the conditions that were originally – the range of 3 – 5%. When the state promises something, it must fulfill its promise.”
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