You can’t just go ahead and open the borders. Why Russia does not let go to the Baltic States – Tourism – News of Saint-Petersburg
Lithuania and Latvia announced a travel ban on Russian tourists for the first time since March 2020. Lithuania is ready to accept Russians in the past – with a negative PCR status or an EU-recognized vaccination certificate. Latvia has not yet specified, but indicated that PCR is also coming soon for entry. It is worth noting that Estonia announced its readiness to receive tourists last year. But de facto, these trips are still banned: those who chose to travel by car or bus were the local border guards back home. The reason is the closure of land borders, introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ban on leaving the country without good reason was introduced at the end of March 2020 within the territory of the Russian Federation. The border service of the FSB saluted and stopped the release of everyone in a row. Cross-border tourism died in the afternoon.
At first, this measure seemed logical: almost all cases were imported – just such careless tourists. Unprecedented since the temporary OVIR of the late order of the USSR, at what address it was necessary to prove their right to go for the train, against the backdrop of the April lockdown, it did not seem to be something particularly totalitarian. Moreover, neighboring countries, one after another, prohibit the entry of tourists – not only Russian, but in general all.
But by the fall of 2020, the ban began to be banned. The categories of citizens who were allowed to leave the country gradually expanded. However, still remaining very exclusive. And even the owners of views of the inhabitants of neighboring countries once again tried not to shine at the border – the rule was in effect, it was possible to leave only once on the owned one. When you return home, they won’t let you out a second time.
However, very absurd circumstances were discovered: it became possible for tourists to travel for the departure on withdrawals. Why a flight of three or four hours in a crowded cabin seemed less dangerous to officials than a trip in a bus or in your own car.
Be that as it may, the vast majority of Russian tourists still have the opportunity to travel. They were subjected to quasi-taxes when traveling – increased ticket prices and paid fees twice for paid PCR for the whole family upon their return. But the ice broke, and as such to ban ban the country to tourists was a ban. Yes, it was necessary to comply with which agreements were accepted and which could fly away – immediately or with transfers. But in general, the pro-March rejection of exceptions was forgotten.
However, residents of St. Petersburg are accustomed to traveling the world through neighboring countries, for example, on cheap Ryanair flights from Tallinn or Lappeenranta. Yes, and just for the weekend to go to Tallinn or Riga – “a purely St. Petersburg story.” As well as for a day back and forth shopping – in Kotka, Lappeenranta or Imatra. But just in these journeys through unknown science and is not a representative of officials for such reasons and remains banned. Yes, in May 2021, the window of a boarded-up house in Europe opened: Russian border guards began to let out owners of foreign real estate. It became easier to travel to relatives, study and work. A separate category of tourists has appeared in the Baltic resorts. The Allegro train was equated to full. But the general ban is still right and there is no talk of its abolition.
Fontanka sent a request to the Russian Parliament with a high degree of clarification as to why this rule is still affected and when it will be lifted. The answer came quickly:
– In response to the appeal of February 17, it is reported that information on all decisions made is in contact with the representatives officially on the website. Amendments to the Decree of the Prosecutor of the Russian Federation dated March 27, 2020 No. 736 will be announced additionally when such decisions are made. Sincerely, the press service of the government of the Russian Federation.
The St. Petersburg Committee for the Development of Tourism has completed the general opening of land borders for Russians. “Together with surism, we are always in favor of reducing Growth as soon as possible,” said the head of the department, Sergei Korneev. But when asked about the steps being taken, the official did not answer that this happened in the event of an occurrence in the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Tourism Agency.
No response was received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time. Rostourism made it clear that it would not be possible to open land borders just like that. “There are many factors and those who actually make such decisions. We cannot speak for the government and the Foreign Ministry,” the press service commented. Also, Rostourism is invited to conduct a fresh interview with the head of the department, Zarina Doguzova, to Izvestia. It says that “Russia is suffering enormous losses due to the suspension of inbound tourism,” but domestic tourism has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Perhaps the logic of the decision “do not release yet” is precisely to support the domestic food producer.
But, from the outside, the authorities do nothing to facilitate the entry of foreigners. For a fairly wide list of countries, entry is open, but the possibility of obtaining an electronic visa in St. Petersburg is frozen, and the refusal to recognize European vaccines deprives foreign tourists of the right to Alieksika, restaurants, museums and other cultural places.
Usually, the Russian authorities foresee the appearance of signs of mutual twisting and unwinding of cross-border screws. The neighbors have already announced the acceptance of the Russians.
Despite all the difficulties, there is a demand for trips from St. Petersburg to the Baltic States. On Thursday, February 17, bus operator LuxExpress announced an increase in the frequency of flights from 24 to 28 weeks. Buses do not run empty – at least five flights a week are completely sold out.
Now the tourist flow is one third of the pre-pandemic, says Wright Remmel, CEO of Eurolines JSC (the Russian representative office of the Lux Express Group). “By the end of the year, the Estonian analysis calculates the number of fluctuations at the level of 60-65% of the peak pre-pandemic indicators,” he said. But to fully restore the volume of bus traffic up to a year and a half. “We would like to once again draw your attention to the fact that at a time when the Baltic states are gradually opening up for Russian tourists, the issue of leaving Russia for these countries for tourist reasons by land is still not resolved,” the top manager changed.
In his opinion, the opening of the borders of the Baltic countries, even unilaterally, will have a positive effect on the tourist flow. “If the law on Latvia allows you to enter the country with negative results of PCR tests, then we will be ready to promptly return the buses on the St. Petersburg-Riga line. In this case, it is quite realistic to reach 50% of the number of cases before the pandemic by the end of the year, ”said Wright Remmel.
Andrey Volkov, General Director of Ecolines Rus LLC, on the contrary, says that there is no growth in traffic. His company drove before the pandemic, traveling from St. Petersburg to Finland and Tallinn, and abroad – with a transfer further across Europe. Now ordinary tourists do not, tickets are bought only by those who travel out of necessity – according to the signs described within the limits of prosperity. In the last couple of weeks there has been a smell with the flow: February is the “dead season” export. “As for, for example, in Finland, the omicron raged there in January, and a fall is also expected in the near future. For example, we used only three weeks instead of daily flights,” says Andrey Volkov.
At the same time, he is sure that as soon as the order takes effect, the market expects explosive growth (at least to the Baltics) due to the colossal deferred consumption. “All these pandemic years, we have been preserving our infrastructure, keeping it “under steam”, hoping that the restrictions are about to be lifted. So we are ready for the opening of this direction,” Andrey Volkov assures.
St. Petersburg tour operators, which had been influencing Baltic regulation before the pandemic, believe restrictions on land border crossings signal a recovery in tourism growth. “Before the pandemic, on New Year’s Eve we had 50 buses to Estonia alone, on other peak dates from 30 to 50 buses. In the off-season – 4-5 buses per week, ”comments the director of the St. Petersburg branch of Intourist, Alexander Musikhin. The top manager hesitated. “Those sweet times have already been forgotten,” he says.
Now Russians can get to Estonia by plane, but there are no direct flights, and tickets via Riga or Helsinki are not cheap, reminds the top manager. You can travel to Estonia by car or bus with a large load, although this is far from a mass type of tourism. “All Baltic tourism is on a complete pause, we are waiting for the opening of ground communication,” says Alexander Musikhin. At the same time, according to the top manager, market participants have no information from the authorities about the meaning of the meeting. But the fact that other countries are opening up for the Russians, the participants in the market of positive extraction.
The company “Petrotur” produces tours to Estonian sanatoriums. The demand is low: in January there was one group per month, I didn’t notice the hype on the March holidays either – perhaps soon these tours were shooting at discounts. “The consumer does not want to overpay and takes the waiting part,” says Igor Mazulov, CEO of the company. According to the top manager, the authorities of the region are not very concerned about the problem of closing land borders, and Rostourism is more concerned about the conditions of entry for foreigners.
“Now foreigners are allowed to enter Russia by PCR, but in St. Petersburg they cannot go anywhere, because they do not have a QR code. From February 21, they begin issuing an antibody test, but it is not yet clear how foreigners do not have a personal account at State Services, they demanded it, ”said Igor Mazulov. According to Intourist, the guaranteed tourist flow in St. Petersburg from Estonia and Finland is only 2–5% of the pre-pandemic level.
Denis Lebedev, Galina Boyarkova, Fontanka.ru