OREANDA-NEWS. According to the State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company "Vesti Sochi", from the beginning of 2021, Sochi and Vladivostok can add to the list of cities to which foreign citizens are allowed to visit with a single electronic visa. The proposal, voiced by the government commission on tourism development, should contribute to the development of the region and remove the bureaucratic barrier. In addition, online visas will help stabilize tourist flow after the pandemic recession and make these cities more attractive to tourists.

An e-visa can be issued on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the mobile application. You won't have to wait long - the whole process will take only 4 days. The visa is suitable for tourist, business, humanitarian and guest trips, it must be used within 60 days. The document is one-time, a tourist can stay in Sochi for no more than 16 days. A pilot project for the introduction of an electronic visa started in Russia in 2017, however, it included only a few cities in 4 regions.

In addition, according to the vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Ruppel, from January 1, 2021, the Krasnodar Territory plans to resume the resort fee. In the spring, the program was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Now the work of the tourism industry is returning to normal, the occupancy of hotels in the region reaches 90%. The resort fee is 10 rubles, the funds are directed to the improvement of settlements. In 2019, with a tourist flow of 17 million people in the Krasnodar Territory, more than 100 million rubles of resort tax were collected.