7127 entries have now been entered into the federal register of guides and translation guides
Less than two months remain before the provision of services of guides and translation guides in Russia without certification will become illegal, both employers of specialists and guides themselves will be responsible for non-fulfillment, the vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry recalled (PCT), founder of the Persona Grata law agency Georgy Mokhov. “Guides and translation guides in Russia were supposed to undergo mandatory certification by July 1 last year, but it could not be carried out at the right pace, so the deadline was postponed for a year. At the same time, work without certification is not accompanied by a sanction in the administrative code. The responsibility and control mechanism is more concerned with legal entities that, say, hire these guides. Sanctions may be applied to legal entities, for example, for providing services of inadequate quality to the public or in violation of the requirements established by law. Guides working directly without a valid certificate may be responsible as individuals, for example, for illegal business activities,” Mokhov explained. As the expert noted, on June 1, 2024, new regulations on state control over the activities of guides and translation guides will come into force. A new version of the article has been introduced into industry Law No. 132, which assigns control powers to regions and municipalities. “Control, including the availability of certification for guides, can be carried out not only by the authority in the field of tourism, but also, for example, by Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Internal Affairs – depending on the decision of the regional authorities. At the same time, as indicated in the standard, planned control (supervisory) measures are not carried out. Surveillance can be carried out – a permanent raid in accordance with the law “On State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control in the Russian Federation” and an order to eliminate violations can be issued. Documents and regulations on the procedure for such control will now be adopted on the ground,” the PCT Vice President said. He believes that in such tourist regions as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Territory, especially on the eve of the high season, the definition of regulatory authorities and the control algorithm will go quite quickly. “In case of violations, a warning may be applied to the guides, an order to eliminate the violation, then a sanction in the form of a fine for non-compliance with the order. Articles of the Administrative Code may also be applied for illegal business activities or activities in violation of mandatory requirements, and others, depending on the situation,” the expert explained.However, according to Mokhov, it is still unclear how this will happen in practice. “For example, the guide leading the group does not have a certificate, that is, the tour is stopped, a protocol is written, a warning is issued, and the group is waiting, nervous, the guide calls his employer, in general, a scandal. Or he continues to lead the tour and the prescription is issued to him after the fact. These are procedural issues, but they are very important because people are involved here, whole groups of tourists,” says the PCT Vice President. To date, 7,127 entries have been entered into the federal register of guides and translation guides. As of May 12, 2023, there were 3,098 of them.
