According to research, only 12 percent of Russian citizens over 60 travel. This includes those who need to receive medical care outside their permanent place of residence and even those who travel to another region. to see off a loved one on their final journey. That is, directly with tourism, as with These trips are not always related to the type of recreation, reports the NGO "Center for the Development of Social Tourism" (Karelia).
"There are many reasons for this situation. Among them are the lack of available financial resources among pensioners that could be used for vacations without compromising their daily needs, and the fact that travel has never been considered an accessible form of leisure for older Russians. This is even reflected in legislation," the organization explained.
Thus, the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Tourist Activity in the Russian Federation" defines social tourism as "tourism carried out, in whole or in part, at the expense of budgetary funds, funds from state extra-budgetary funds (including funds allocated within the framework of state social assistance), as well as funds from employers; travel subsidized from funds allocated by the state for social needs.
Therefore, despite the diversity of tourism products, the phrase "social tourism" evokes associations only with free travel packages funded by the state budget or a sponsor and sanatoriums "under trade union auspices."
As a result, the number of potential travelers is limited by budgetary constraints, and there is no widespread demand for tourism services from older citizens, which discourages the development of accessible environments at tourist sites and the development of tourism products tailored to the specific needs of the older generation.
Incidentally, in 1975, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was created within the UN structure, which in 1999 adopted the “Global Code of Ethics for Tourism”.
Source: trn-news.ru