Admittance to the line
RF State Duma will soon consider draft amendments into legislation regulating admission of foreigners to the Russian Federation. The amendments are to be applied mainly in port cities of Russia. Under new rules tourists entering Russia by ferries will be entitled to stay in the country without visa for 72 hours. It will enable Russia to recover regular ferry service between St. Petersburg and Baltic ports after it was broken two years ago.
New edition of the law
The conception of large-scale tourism development in St. Petersburg aimed at attraction of tourists flow from the ports of the Baltic Sea (mainly Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm) is currently being considered at the St. Petersburg Government Committee for Transport and Transit Policy (CTTP). Within the framework of a strategy for development of the municipal transport-and-logistics complex, the Committee initiated application to Boris Gryzlov, Speaker of the State Duma, in the name Valentina Matvienko, St. Petersburg Governor. The letter dated October 22, 2007, contains the request of the Governor to speed up consideration and approval of amendments into certain acts of legislation. As of today, the draft law “On introduction of amendments intoArticle 25.1 of the Federal Law “On foreigners’ departure from and admission to the Russian Federation” and into Article 2 of the Federal Law “On legal status of foreigners in the Russian Federation” is under the first reading in the State Duma.
According to the press center of CTTP, the proposed edition of the law will make it possible “to ensure increase of passenger turnover in the Big Port of St. Petersburg and to improve tourism attractiveness of the city”. If the bill is passed, ferry passengers will have the same rights as those entering Russia by cruise ships, and foreigners will be able to use regular sea service with Russia under visa-free principle. In 2005, it was visa requirement that resulted in termination of Finnish ferry service Silja Line and Estonian Tallink linking St. Petersburg with European countries. At that moment it was not determined when the services were to be recovered. Market players say operation of a ferry service is almost impossible under existing visa restrictions.
To recover service
Experts believe the amendments could raise St. Petersburg attractiveness for tourists, which, in its turn, may recover ferry services. According to Igor Glukhov, Chaiman of permanent committee on development of marine and river tourism infrastructure, “the weight of St. Petersburg at this market segment does not meet the interests of the city. It is not right to count on foreign shipping companies alone. It is necessary to create stable passenger flow based on Russian fleet similar to that of Estonia and Finland.”
Meanwhile, the amendments are getting even more sound within the framework of a project on construction of the Sea Façade complex financed by the federal budget as its operation and recoupment depend directly on recovery of all-the-year-around ferry services. The complex’s design capacity of 1.5 million tonnes is impossible to achieve without ferry communications. Mr. Glukhov says the new passenger terminal will not be profitable enough without arrangement of conditions necessary for year-around operation of ferry lines. “It is obvious that positive solution of visa issue will enable St. Petersburg to attract leading ferry services from the Baltic states and Scandinavia and to ensure favorable conditions for operation of our national ferry services,” Mr. Glukhov thinks.