About 100 children could not go to China on vacation due to the fault of the tour operator

An individual entrepreneur from Vladivostok could not manage to organize a tour to China for about 100 children with their parents. This was announced on March 30 by the Primorsky Krai Prosecutor's Office.

It is specified that the sole proprietor undertook to prepare a foreign trip for spring holidays for children from the Magadan and Sakhalin regions, as well as the Khabarovsk and Kamchatka territories, by concluding agreements with their parents.

"However, the tour operator was unable to properly organize the departure of children to the People's Republic of China, as a result of which <...> 100 children and their legal representatives did not leave the country due to the lack of vouchers purchased for them," the department's Telegram channel says.

It is specified that the sole proprietor is not included in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators. The Prosecutor's Office is cooperating with the Government of Primorsky Krai to accommodate the children, ensure their leisure and safety until they return home. The ministry said that 27 children, accompanied by five adults, had already set off back at night, and 75 more would go home that day.

An inspection was carried out on the fact of the incident, based on the materials of which the issue of initiating a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Provision of services of inadequate quality") was resolved. As a result, the entrepreneur's actions were qualified under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Fraud"). The Regional Prosecutor's Office will monitor the progress and results of the investigation. The agency will provide a comprehensive assessment of the legality of the tour operator's actions and the observance of children's rights to safe services. In addition, it monitors the safe transfer and stay of children in the region.

Maria, the tour guide, who was supposed to accompany the children on the trip, told Izvestia that the tour operator had not calculated the budget and incurred a large loss.

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Ekaterina Dolgikh, Head of marketing at Tutu Aviation Services, said that in order to avoid problems when traveling with children abroad, it is important that the children are registered in the parent's passport. It is important that the attitude towards this requirement has become stricter since 2024. In addition, in order for a child under the age of 14 to enter Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and South Ossetia, his citizenship must be indicated on his birth certificate.