Money for home: the tourism industry may have its own bank

Russia needs to create an investment bank for the development of tourism, I am sure Sergey Krivonosov, deputy head of the State Duma committee on physical culture, sports, tourism and youth affairs. As the founders, according to the idea of ​​the official, the government of the Russian Federation and investment funds should act. Details – in the material “Izvestia”.

Breakout Request

“The emergence of a tourism development investment bank in Russia is an important and necessary step aimed at increasing the efficiency of the tourism sector as part of the tourism development strategy until 2035… In addition, the efforts of the Russian parliament in the framework of joint work with the United Russia WFP are aimed at creating a code on tourism. The document, which will be aimed at the development of domestic and inbound tourism, will include the parameters for managing the main types of tourism, defining the terms of the tourism industry, ”said Sergei Krivonosov at a meeting of the State Council working group chaired by Hrant Babasyan, President of the National Union of the Hospitality Industry (OSIG).

It is also planned to create a commission of the State Duma for the development of tourism, which will include members of government bodies, representatives of the travel community and business… We will remind that now the development of the national project “Tourism and the hospitality industry” is underway, aimed at the development of public-private partnerships, the allocation of state preferences and increasing the efficiency of the tourism sector.

Under the same roof

The hot topic of supporting domestic tourism comes up in any conversation about the prospects for the industry’s recovery. Experts say that the support measures that are now being formed demonstrate the interest of the country’s leadership in the development of domestic and inbound tourism. And the new initiative confirms this once again. Tourism is now considered as a competitive resource, which in the future could bring a fairly serious income to the country’s budget.

“Of course, the primary issue is the national project, or rather the scale of assistance to the tourism industry. If they are similar to those that turn out to be in agriculture, “own” Rosselkhozbank will definitely not hurt. In any case, the USSR State Committee for Tourism had its own “Inturbank”, – said the honorary president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) Sergei Shpilko in a conversation with Izvestia.

Yulia Skoromolova, vice president of ATOR, deputy general director of Interconnect Management Corporation, agrees with him. “In the tourism industry, it would undoubtedly be useful to create a tourism investment bank, or separate banking products focused on tourism projects,” Skoromolova said. The reason is clear – investments could be useful for the development of tourism infrastructure, since the past season has once again demonstrated to domestic tourists that there are still reserves in infrastructure development in Russian regions.

“The return on investment in tourism is on average from 10 years, a rare investor with business goals will decide to support such projects. This means that the support of the state or consolidated private investors with acceptable conditions could help the Russian regions to tighten the infrastructure to the proper level, ”Skoromolova believes.

The initiative is also supported by Yuri Naumov, the owner of the Travel.ru network. “Of course, the development of the tourism potential of each region in Russia is possible only through private-state investment. In another way, no industry will be able to develop at the proper level. Let me give you an example of the Sochi mountain cluster. “

Experts remind that many infest funds have repeatedly stated that they will not have anything to do with the Russian tourist business, since investments are too risky and low-profit. “Investors are concerned about the payback period. The profitability of some projects can be no more than 10% per year. For many, this is no longer a business, ”said a travel market expert, who wished to remain anonymous.

Not so easy

To what extent is it possible to introduce in Russia a scheme for financing tourism infrastructure through an investment development bank? The expert community did not find a single answer to this question. This is possible if a separate department in the bank is allocated for tourism, which is engaged in lending to investment projects. Again, we are talking about the creation of a separate credit organization, which will be tuned to the tourism industry.

“If we are talking about creating a separate bank, then there are many stumbling blocks. The fact is that a tourist bank, just like other credit organizations, will be regulated by the Central Bank and will have to work according to general rules, comply with strict requirements established for commercial banks. It is no secret that banks are reluctant to lend to tourist businesses. This may be the case with the new organization, ”says Sergey Romashkin, general director of the Dolphin company.

“But in any case, Russia needs investment projects, they will help turn domestic tourism into a competitive product. It is imperative to form appropriate institutions, ”says Naumov.

Implementation instructions

Alexander Bayborodin, head of the company Lawyers for Tourism Business Bayborodin and Partners, recalls that in a number of foreign countries this idea has taken root. However, according to the expert, you need to understand that the creation of a bank alone will not solve anything.

“No less important is an organizational and managerial structure that could effectively administer, accumulate and, most importantly, effectively spend funds, as well as interact with local authorities. She must be endowed with significant powers. Considering all this, it is hardly possible to talk about the creation of such a structure in the near future. However, given that, in general, there is an impulse for reforming the industry (which, for example, the head of Rostourism says, mentioning the need for a new industry law), it is quite possible that the draft new law may define some outlines of the relevant institutions, ” Bayborodin.

Sergey Romashkin agrees: globally there is no need for a separate bank. Instead, it is necessary to create more understandable mechanisms for financing tourism projects.…

“Within the framework of the tourism development strategy until 2035, financing of investment projects has already been provided. And here the problem is not money, but ideas. As practice shows, both private and federal funds are always available for a good idea, ”Romashkin says.

Yes, the tourism industry already has ways to support investment projects. But many of them, in spite of the money invested, unfortunately, could not become really working. The main problem is in weak regulatory mechanisms, experts say…

Sergei Onishchenko, CEO of Eurotour, points to the fragmentation of the management of the tourism industry as a blocking factor in the effective work of financing tourism infrastructure through a potential investment bank. “There is a way out – to create a Ministry of Tourism,” Onishchenko says.

According to the expert, the same fact also hinders the effective implementation of national projects in the field of tourism. After all, Rosturizm does not have sufficient powers to control the allocation of budget funds locally. “We need to give Rosturizm such powers,” Onishchenko says.