On November 15, in St. Petersburg, as part of the business program of the VIII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China and the Federal Agency The Russian Federation's Ministry of Tourism (Rosturizm) signed a document on strengthening cooperation in coordinating tourism activities. The signing parties were Zarina Doguzova, Head of Rostourism, and Zhang Xu, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China.
"The focus on improving the quality and safety of tourism services in both countries was strengthened following talks between Rostourism Director Zarina Doguzova and Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang, which took place in Moscow this spring. Therefore, the primary goal of the Memorandum was to protect the legitimate rights and interests of tourists and tourism organizations in both countries. To achieve this, Rostourism and the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism agreed to establish a joint working group," the agency's press service reported.
The working group will include representatives of authorized government agencies and tourism associations from the two countries, who will address issues related to the coordination of tourism activities and regulation of the tourism market.
"China is a priority tourism market for us. Guests from China already rank first in terms of visits to Russia from non-CIS countries, so improving the quality of tourism services is a top priority for our countries. The creation of a joint working group will allow Rostourism, in close collaboration with its Chinese colleagues, to address issues that will elevate tourism exchanges between Russia and China to a qualitatively new level," said Zarina Doguzova, head of Rostourism, after the signing.
The main areas of activity of the working group will be:
- collection and exchange of information on the current state of the national tourism services market, existing problems and ways to solve them;
- strengthening cooperation in the area of regulating the tourism market and implementing joint actions in the event of violation of the legitimate rights and interests of tourists of the two countries;
- convergence of requirements for quality standards of provided tourist services and the basic cost of typical tourist products;
- exercising control, independently and jointly with state authorized bodies, over the compliance of tourism organizations with national legislation in the field of tourism, the provision of tourism services and their compliance with quality standards;
- exchange of materials on cases concerning violations of legislation by tourism organizations and individuals;
- Conducting coordinated actions to prevent the provision of tourist services to consumers at reduced, dumping prices, the real cost of which is compensated for by forcing tourists to make purchases not included in the travel program, selling goods and souvenirs, tickets to theaters and museums at inflated prices, and charging fees for visiting tourist attractions and sights;
- cooperation in the field of training guides and tourist group leaders.
Source: trn-news.ru