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Introduction of visas will mostly affect tourists from Russian provinces
09:57, 10 декабря 2012
Croatian authorities have to reconcile their visa regime with the EU standards before April 1 next year, three months before the country becomes part of the European Union. The Croatian embassy in Moscow has held a meeting for tour operators and journalists, explaining the visa regimes that will be used before and after April 1.
According to Andrea Metelko Zgombich, the country’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Croatia will keep the visa formalities for Russian tourists as simple as EU regulations allow. “Last year we had 200 thousand tourists from Russia. And we want the tourist flow to stay at this level, showing that a Schengen visa is not an impenetrable wall”.
Russian tourists will be issued single, double and multi visas to Croatia. These will let a person stay in the country for a total of 90 days every six months. But in order to get a multi visa one has to present certain documents that confirm a need for such a visa: like a voucher for an excursion from Montenegro to Croatia. Of course that is not very convenient, because most excursions are purchased on the spot, and not during the booking at the agency.
The Croatian consulate assures tourists that the whole procedure of obtaining a visa will not take more than five days. They are also planning on hiring 22 new employees, opening a bigger office and introducing an online form, which should speed things up. The consulate also promised tour operators to work 24/7. Still, the Croatian embassy in Moscow will continue to accept individual visa applications from Russian citizens.
Croatia will start accepting applications for new visas in February 2013. The consulate plans to issue about 150 thousand visas every year, taking into account that another 50 thousand visitors from Russia will come with visas issued by other Schengen countries. Tour operators have some doubts about these numbers. “First you’ll have to find these 150 thousand people. I’m not sure the tourist flow will be the same as last year”, - said Boris Tyrin, head of the destination at Neva Travel in an interview to RATA news. According to him, Croatia has many competitors on the market at the time, like Greece and Spain, which both introduced simplified visa regimes.
Deputy General Manager of Russian Express, Gennady Kosarev is sure that the new visa regime will affect the regions. “Russians, who live in the province, will have to obtain their documents trough visa-centers. But we still don’t know in which cities they will be located. The tender will take place only in December, whereas the charter programs are already being planned. I guess many operators will seriously cut down on their flight plans to Croatia next year. No one wants to take extra risks”, - he explained.
Mikhail Musinyants, General Manager of Ertzog agrees that the tourist flow will decrease firstly because of the province. “A visa regime is always inconvenient, but it also calls for additional expenses. People in the regions will have to contact visa-centers, so for a family of three the visa obtaining procedures will cost about €150”, - he said. Yet Mr. Musinyants also believes that a lot will be determined by the overall Croatian attitude towards the visa regime and by level of cooperation between the consulate and tour operators.
Eugeny Sudbin, General Manager of Ascent Travel is also worried about the new relations between operators and the consulate. “At the time we have no idea how fast they will be working, and how willing they are to take a step towards helping the travel industry”, - he explained.
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According to Andrea Metelko Zgombich, the country’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Croatia will keep the visa formalities for Russian tourists as simple as EU regulations allow. “Last year we had 200 thousand tourists from Russia. And we want the tourist flow to stay at this level, showing that a Schengen visa is not an impenetrable wall”.
Russian tourists will be issued single, double and multi visas to Croatia. These will let a person stay in the country for a total of 90 days every six months. But in order to get a multi visa one has to present certain documents that confirm a need for such a visa: like a voucher for an excursion from Montenegro to Croatia. Of course that is not very convenient, because most excursions are purchased on the spot, and not during the booking at the agency.
The Croatian consulate assures tourists that the whole procedure of obtaining a visa will not take more than five days. They are also planning on hiring 22 new employees, opening a bigger office and introducing an online form, which should speed things up. The consulate also promised tour operators to work 24/7. Still, the Croatian embassy in Moscow will continue to accept individual visa applications from Russian citizens.
Croatia will start accepting applications for new visas in February 2013. The consulate plans to issue about 150 thousand visas every year, taking into account that another 50 thousand visitors from Russia will come with visas issued by other Schengen countries. Tour operators have some doubts about these numbers. “First you’ll have to find these 150 thousand people. I’m not sure the tourist flow will be the same as last year”, - said Boris Tyrin, head of the destination at Neva Travel in an interview to RATA news. According to him, Croatia has many competitors on the market at the time, like Greece and Spain, which both introduced simplified visa regimes.
Deputy General Manager of Russian Express, Gennady Kosarev is sure that the new visa regime will affect the regions. “Russians, who live in the province, will have to obtain their documents trough visa-centers. But we still don’t know in which cities they will be located. The tender will take place only in December, whereas the charter programs are already being planned. I guess many operators will seriously cut down on their flight plans to Croatia next year. No one wants to take extra risks”, - he explained.
Mikhail Musinyants, General Manager of Ertzog agrees that the tourist flow will decrease firstly because of the province. “A visa regime is always inconvenient, but it also calls for additional expenses. People in the regions will have to contact visa-centers, so for a family of three the visa obtaining procedures will cost about €150”, - he said. Yet Mr. Musinyants also believes that a lot will be determined by the overall Croatian attitude towards the visa regime and by level of cooperation between the consulate and tour operators.
Eugeny Sudbin, General Manager of Ascent Travel is also worried about the new relations between operators and the consulate. “At the time we have no idea how fast they will be working, and how willing they are to take a step towards helping the travel industry”, - he explained.