The Liberal Democratic Party called for a refund of the entire amount in case of cancellation of tours for a good reason.

People need to refund the entire amount paid if they cancel their tours for a valid reason. This initiative was addressed by the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Leonid Slutsky in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Slutsky noted that the development of tourism is one of the key directions of Russia's state policy and a number of measures are being implemented in this area, including the creation of infrastructure and improving the quality of services. However, the security of citizens when buying tourist trips is also an important factor. The party noted that the average cost of the tour is 62 thousand rubles, which is a significant amount for most families.

"In this regard, the risk of losing money if it is impossible to make a trip often becomes the reason for refusing to plan trips or purchase travel products in advance," the letter says.

The LDPR noted that circumstances are increasingly arising that cannot be foreseen when booking, including illness or loss of documents in an emergency situation. At the same time, the political formation also noted an increase in anxiety among tourists. The current operational situation in a number of regions of the country is also having an impact, including flight delays and logistics disruptions.

"At the same time, the current legislation in most cases links the refund of funds if the tourist refuses the contract with the amount of expenses actually incurred by the contractor. As a result, even if there are objective and documented reasons that exclude the possibility of traveling, citizens often suffer significant financial losses," the party added.

LDPR stressed that a number of circumstances objectively exclude the possibility of travel and should not have negative consequences for tourists. In this regard, the faction offers to refund the entire amount in case of cancellation of tours for a valid reason, which will be documented. At the same time, it is necessary to establish a clear list of these circumstances and the procedure for their confirmation. This measure, according to the party, will ensure a balance of interests of citizens, tour operators, hotels and other participants in the tourism industry.

"For most Russian families, a vacation is not a spontaneous light trip, but serious amounts of money that have been postponed for months. Today, traveling in Russia costs on average more than 60 thousand rubles per person, so losing this money due to circumstances that a person cannot influence in any way is a huge blow to the family budget. Life is unpredictable. Illness, family tragedy, loss of documents, airport restrictions or other emergency circumstances can cancel any plans. But this does not mean that a person should also suffer serious financial losses. The state must protect conscientious tourists who find themselves in such a situation through no fault of their own," Slutsky said.

He added that the initiative is designed to make domestic tourism accessible to every Russian family, as well as to emphasize the need to provide guarantees to people. The Liberal Democratic Party demands that tourists be refunded the entire amount for the tour or booking if they refuse for good reasons. A single list of such reasons, as well as the procedure for their documentary confirmation, should also be established — this will prevent abuse of the measure, ensuring a balance of interests of citizens, tour operators and hotels.

"The adoption of the proposed changes will provide additional protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, increase the level of trust in the tourism industry and create fair guarantees for tourists who find themselves in objectively unforeseen life circumstances," the document concluded.

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