MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The Association of Tour Aggregators proposes to legally restrict the return of foreign accommodation booking services to the Russian market, including Booking.com and Airbnb.
This proposal was made by the head of the association Alexander Bragin at parliamentary hearings of the State Duma Committee on Tourism as part of the International Tourism Forum Let’s Travel!
"Global players have unlimited financial resources, a huge network effect and decades of work on the product. If they return, we will again have monopolization of the market and unlimited access to personal data by foreign entities, with the location of users and their movement. In this regard, we propose to legally restrict the possibility of global companies returning to our market," he said.
Bragin noted that some subsidiaries of Western companies have not been formally closed, they are in a "sleep mode" and, as a result, can quickly resume operations in Russia. In particular, Booking.com has such a subsidiary.
"We need to quickly prepare legislative amendments regarding tour aggregators together with the State Duma and federal authorities," the industry expert stressed.
He recalled that before their departure from the Russian market, Booking.com and Airbnb actually dominated, occupying up to 75-80% of the market.
"Over the past three years, Russian participants have completely replaced the foreigners who left, created a truly competitive environment, made significant investments in jobs and product quality for the consumer. Our common goal is to preserve and increase this progress," the head of the association concluded.
The Fifth International Tourism Forum Let’s Travel! is underway in Moscow from June 10 to 15. The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian Government and the Economic Development Ministry. TASS is the strategic media partner of the forum.