The Ministry of Economic Development postpones the mandatory introduction of electronic travel packages for six months

"Electronic travel" is an information system that allows you to control the sale of tourist products and the provision of tourist services. In particular, the system allows a tourist to independently check the fact of registration of his electronic voucher in it, which is evidence of the availability of state guarantees from the company that sold the tourist product, as well as the presence of this company in the register of Rostourism.

The Electronic Ticket information system is created by the National Tourist Technologies company (a subsidiary of Rostec Group of Companies) by order of Rostourism. Initially, in accordance with the federal law of March 2, 2016 No. 49-FZ, the system was supposed to be put into commercial operation from January 2018. This period was postponed by Rostourism to January 2019. However, the system is not functioning in June 2020.

2023

The company associated with the structures of Rosatom will finalize the Electronic Ticket GIS

On August 31, 2023, information appeared that the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation signed a contract with Prime Group LLC for the development of the Electronic Ticket state information system (GIS), an analogue of EGAIS for the tourism market. Read more here.

The Ministry of Economic Development postpones the mandatory introduction of electronic travel packages for six months

The Ministry of Economic Development postpones the mandatory introduction of electronic travel packages for six months. This became known on August 16, 2023.

Initially, the mandatory entry of information into the unified information system of electronic vouchers for tour operators for outbound tourism was planned from September 1, 2023. Now the dates have been postponed to March 1, 2024. The postponement became known a month after the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) sent an appeal to Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Vakhrukov with a proposal to postpone the introduction of the "electronic voucher" system in the country for a year.

The Russian Union of Travel Industry called for postponing the introduction of the "electronic voucher" system for a year

Industry participants have repeatedly stated that there are errors and shortcomings in the system, therefore, first of all, it should be put into working condition when correct work becomes possible in it, "said PCT President Ilya Umansky.

According to the PCT, by mid-2023, 300 tour operators were registered in the official register, who need time to test the data transfer mechanism. The organization's appeal states that each tour operator will need at least three months from the moment of the correct functioning of the updated system, so the PCT insists on postponing the introduction of responsibility.

The law on an electronic voucher was launched in Russia on September 1, 2022, while at the first stage tour operators began to transfer data to a single system on a voluntary basis. But with the onset of the mandatory data transfer, the tourist business will be held accountable for refusing this. So, for tour operators in the field of domestic and inbound tourism, this period should begin on September 1, 2024, and for the tourist business in the field of outbound tourism, according to new proposals, from March 2024.^[1]

2022

From September 1, tour operators in Russia must enter all data on tours sold into a single system

From September 1, 2022, tour operators in Russia must enter all data on tours sold into the unified Electronic Ticket system. On this day, the relevant law came into force.

Without the transfer of data, tour operators do not have the right to carry out activities, but the law provides for a transitional period. From September 1, 2022, tour operators will be able to voluntarily transfer information to the system, while within six months - until March 1, 2023 - tour operators in the field of outbound tourism will not be held accountable if data is not transferred to the system. And for domestic and inbound tour operators, the transition period will last until September 2023.

From September 1, tour operators in the Russian Federation must enter all data on tours sold into a single system

The Federal Tourism Agency explains the phased launch of the Electronic Voucher system so that tour operators can run it in practice. A number of major tour operators have already used the system during the testing phase. In addition, the department intends to hold a series of webinars for the tourist business on the use of the electronic voucher system.

Tour operators voluntarily enter data on tours sold into the system, each tour will be automatically assigned a special identifier to take into account purchased tours, as well as for the convenience of tourists - so that at any time you can check information about the purchased tour. Nothing is additionally required from the tourist, - explained the head of Rostourism Zarina Doguzova on September 1, 2022.

According to her, the rumors that appeared in the media and social networks that from September 1, 2022, allegedly when traveling around the country, QR codes will become mandatory, do not correspond to reality.

According to technical specialists of tour operator companies who have previously familiarized themselves with the work of the system, there are still many critical "architectural" moments in it that need to be improved. One of them is the impossibility of making difficult tours, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.^[2]

200 million rubles of budget money per year were allocated for the work of the Electronic Ticket GIS

state 200 million rubles budget expenditures per year were allocated for the work of the Electronic Voucher information system. About this June 22, 2022 writes "" Kommersant with reference to sources in the market.

According to one of the interlocutors, the annual spending of 200 million rubles provided for by the national tourism project is "insignificant." Initially, it was about deductions from each ticket, this is billions of rubles a year, he added.

200 million rubles of budget money per year were allocated for the work of the Electronic Ticket GIS

According to the newspaper, Rostourism is more interested in the work of the Electronic Voucher . GIS will be used to form tourist contributions to a single guarantee fund, which is planned to be created within the framework of the new law on tourism, one of the sources explained to the newspaper. He reminds that Rostourism will manage these funds.

Travel companies will have to connect to the Electronic Ticket GIS from September 1, 2022, but by June 22, Rostourism did not specify the procedure for using the system. Without this, as Kommersant writes with reference to the letter of Opora Rossii to Rostourism, tour operators and agents will not be able to carry out their activities: having violated the procedure for transferring information to the GIS three times, companies risk being excluded from the official register of participants in the tourist market.

In its appeal, Opora asks to explain the stages of implementation of the system, the timing of receiving instructions for connecting to it, to provide information on the amount of fees that will be charged for the use of GIS.

The tourist business was not given important explanations of who will pay for the operation of GIS and what exactly it will regulate, says Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. According to her, if we are talking about the state accounting system, it is not clear why tour operators should pay for it and why personal data of tourists should be entered into it.^[3]

Putin ordered tour operators to form an electronic ticket and enter data into the GIS

At the end of May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law obliging tour operators to form an electronic voucher and post information about it in a specialized system.

The law obliges tour operators to transfer information from the agreement on the sale of a tourist product to this system. In addition, it requires travel agents to send notifications to tour operators about the conclusion of such an agreement.

Putin ordered tour operators to form an electronic ticket and enter data into the GIS

According to the text of the law, the tour operator must transfer information to the electronic voucher system at the end of each calendar month no later than the 15th day of the month following the expired calendar month, in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, tourists will be given the opportunity to receive information from the unified information system "Electronic Travel," including in order to protect their rights.

The Electronic Voucher system is designed to protect consumer rights. The resource will allow customers to track the status of the tour by the contract number: whether the money came from the agent to the operator, whether the air ticket was issued. If the tour operator does not fulfill its obligations, it will be possible to contact the fund with the Turpomosch association with an electronic ticket receipt. The system should also ensure the exchange of information between Rostourism, Rospotrebnadzor, the Fund for Financial Guarantees, the Federal Tax Service, banks and insurance companies, tour operators, travel service providers.

Previously, the electronic ticket has been used since 2018, but only voluntarily. The law signed by Putin on the obligation of tour operators to enter information about vouchers into the unified information system of electronic vouchers will enter into force on September 1, 2022. The exception is some provisions that, when implementing a tourist product in the field of outbound tourism, come into force on March 1, 2023, in the field of domestic or inbound tourism - on September 1, 2023.^[4]

2020

An IT system has appeared in Russia, allowing the state to make additional money on tour operators

The unified information system of electronic vouchers received state status, successfully passing the necessary certification. This was reported on June 8, 2020 in the subsidiary structure of Rostec, the company "National Tourism Technologies," which is the operator of the system.

Based on the results of the certification, an indefinite certificate of compliance of the system with the information security requirements imposed on the state information system for the second class of security (K2) was obtained, - explained in the "National Tourism Technologies."

The "electronic ticket" meets the information security requirements for the state information system for the second class of security (K2), reported in the "National Tourism Technologies." (photo - cdn.profi.travel)

The company also noted that the system is ready for operation and that soon the organization will begin to integrate with it the information systems of those Russian tour operators with whom the operator has concluded relevant agreements.

Until the legislative introduction of the mandatory information system of electronic vouchers, the company will provide technological assistance to tour operators in working with the system voluntarily free of charge, - inform in the "National Tourism Technologies"

The system operator does not provide any details about the refinement of the system that the company has been engaged in since December 2019.

Meanwhile, the bill on the introduction of the "Electronic Voucher," which determines the procedure for its use by tour operators, is under consideration in the State Duma. Having entered it in November 2019, the regulatory legal act was approved in the first reading only on May 12, 2020. It is not known when the second reading of the draft law will take place as of June 9, 2020.

The Electronic Ticket system is intended to provide tour operators and agencies with data on all tours sold. Information in the system of the organization will be provided on a paid basis.

"Electronic ticket" will be certified and will become a state IT system

"National Tourism Technologies" began preparing the information system "Electronic Ticket" for certification as a state information system. The system operator expects the certification to be completed in April 2020. This was reported to TAdviser by the press service of National Tourism Technologies on January 17, 2020.

The audit of the system was completed in December 2019. Its results, according to TAdviser in NTT, were sent by the company to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and Rosturizm. What were the results of the audit of the system in the NTT TAdviser did not tell.

As part of the certification, as noted in the company, the system, in particular, will be provided with secure data transmission channels. NTT also drew attention to the fact that since the launch of Rostourism, the system has not been decommissioned - it was only suspended due to the lack of budget funding. The operation of the National Tourism Technologies system will be resumed when it already bears the status of a state information system (GIS). The exact date of the start of operation of the system in the "National Tourism Technologies" TAdviser was not reported, saying that it would be announced on the company's website.

As part of the certification, "Electronic Ticket" in particular will be provided with secure data transmission channels, - said TAdviser in NTT.

Speaking with TAdviser about testing the system, NTT noted that the concept of "test" mode of operation of the state information system is absent in Russian legislation. According to the decree of the government of the Russian Federation, only the concepts of "trial operation," "acceptance tests" and "commissioning" are divided.

However, the "test" mode in the case of the "Electronic Voucher" can be equated with its transition period - the time from the moment of resumption of operation of the system to the legislative introduction of the obligation to use it. During the transition period, "National Tourism Technologies" will identify and eliminate possible errors of the "Electronic Voucher" when exchanging data with the information systems of tour operators. Thus, by the time the use of the "Electronic Voucher" becomes mandatory at the legislative level, both it itself and the systems of tour operators that have integrated with it in a voluntary mode will be fully ready, - assured TAdviser in "National Tourism Technologies."

As of January 17, 2020, the company entered into 17 agreements on voluntary integration with the system with Russian tour operators. In particular, with such companies as Intourist, BSI Group, Muzenidis Travel, Carlson Tourism, Pegasus Tourist, Anex Tourism, Space Travel Company, Lead Group, Biblio-Globus. The system operator launched the process of concluding agreements with tour operators in early December 2019. At the same time, as TAdviser said in National Tourism Technologies, regardless of the presence or absence of concluded agreements, any of the Russian tour operators will have the right to integrate with the system before it becomes mandatory at the legislative level.

Tour operators with whom agreements are concluded use both their own software and large software developers. Ensuring representativeness will create conditions for comfortable integration with the "Electronic Voucher" of information systems of both operators who conclude agreements with us and others, - explained TAdviser in the "National Tourism Technologies."

On December 27, 2019, the system operator launched a technical forum on the operation of the system for professional market participants on its website. The forum allows you to ask them questions about the future functioning of the system and get answers to them from the National Tourism Technologies IT specialists. Within the framework of the transition period of the system, the forum will also provide representatives of the travel industry with the opportunity to make proposals for the revision and elimination of errors identified during it.

2019

The bill on the introduction of electronic tours caused a storm of indignation in the State Duma

During the round table in November 2019, the State Duma's tourism subcommittee, as well as market participants, criticized the bill on the introduction of a unified information system of electronic vouchers in its current version. Deputies and representatives of the tourist business agreed that the document was not sufficiently worked out and its adoption in its current form carries risks for the tourism market and consumers.

The essence of the bill

The legislative initiative on the introduction of electronic vouchers, authored by State Duma deputies Sergei Boyarsky and Igor Sapko, obliges tour operators and travel agents to form an electronic voucher and enter information about it into a single information database of electronic vouchers. The document proposes to make this information mandatory for tour operators and travel agents from April 1, 2020.

Igor Sapko (pictured left), Sergey Boyarsky (pictured right) (photo - krivonosov.ru)

The bill also provides for the charging by the operator of the electronic voucher system from tour operators for placing relevant information in it. As the authors of the initiative point out, to ensure the functioning of the system and its development. As an explanation in the explanatory note of the document, its authors note that the charged fee will allow the system operator to perform its functions without attracting budget funds. The size and procedure for charging a tour operator, according to the bill, will be established by the government of the Russian Federation.

The document also proposes to supplement the law "On the Basics of Tourist Activities in the Russian Federation" in such a way that if a tourist product is sold by a tour operator without the formation and placement of an electronic voucher in the system, information about it is excluded from the unified federal register of tour operators. This measure, as the authors of the bill indicate in its explanatory note, will lead to the proper fulfillment by tour operators of the obligation imposed on them by the document. The draft law also provides for the onset of administrative responsibility for the sale of a tourist product without the formation and placement of an electronic voucher in the system. However, what it will be for administrative responsibility in the document is not specified.

In addition, the bill prescribes the travel agent to issue to the client a certified extract from the electronic voucher system containing the conditions of the relevant agreement on the sale of a tourist product. This obligation, according to the document, is assigned to the travel agent if he implements, on behalf of the tour operator, his tourist product and can, in accordance with the permission of the tour operator, enter information into the system of electronic vouchers for their formation.

The draft law also contains an important provision regarding the electronic voucher system itself - the document assigns the operation of the system to its operator. Thus, according to the bill, the National Tourism Technologies company will operate the electronic voucher system.

As of November, the draft law is under consideration in the State Duma. In addition, the document is being considered by the president, and Russia Vladimir Putin public chamber of the Russian Federation a number of federal executive bodies, to which the State Duma sent a document for drawing up reviews. Among them,,,, Government of the Russian Federation Federation Council Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation as well as the bodies state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The first reading of the bill by the State Duma is tentatively scheduled for December.

Criticism of the document in the current version

During the round table organized by the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs, both State Duma deputies, including the authors of the initiative, and tour operators, pointed out that both the electronic voucher system and the bill on its implementation in the current edition have a number of shortcomings.

Both the system of electronic vouchers and the bill on its implementation in the current version have a number of shortcomings, - said the deputies and tour operators (photo - krivonosov.ru)

Thus, Sergey Krivonosov noted that the draft law should provide for the responsibility of the system operator for the leakage of personal data. Otherwise, according to him, in the event of a failure in the system, there will be no one responsible for the leakage of these citizens. The deputy also noted that the subcommittee on tourism is concerned about the problem of system integration and the duration of this process.

I consider it premature to establish the timing of the entry into force of the bill without preliminary testing of the system by market participants. How much will it cost to connect an electronic voucher with tour operator, travel agent booking systems, the cost of placing an electronic voucher in the system - there are many questions. The estimated cost of serving one voucher is 300 rubles - where did this amount come from? From our point of view, it is necessary to make a detailed justification, - said Sergey Krivonosov.

According to him, the fact that the system operator wants to return the funds that he plans to invest in the system is completely clear.

However, our task is to reduce the cost of a tourist product for the end consumer, and not to increase it, - said Sergey Krivonosov.

He also noted that the system should ensure transparency of the work of market participants. However, the system will be able to whitewash the tourist business completely, according to him, if it displays payments and has fiscal functions. In the meantime, according to the bill, the system will perform a statistical function, show how the volumes declared by tour operators correspond to their financial support.

Space Travel CEO Artur Marudyan in his speech proposed introducing a temporary moratorium on the exclusion of tour operators from the unified federal register of tour operators if the bill is adopted. Dmitry Gorin, General Director of VIP-Service, announced the need to organize work to modernize the system, refine the gateways and upload data together with the electronic voucher operator.

According to Anna Podgornaya, General Director of the Pegasus Tourist tour operator, in its current form, the system will not solve all the tasks set for it, since the tour operator may not upload data to the system.

The legislation does not oblige him to conclude contracts in the form of an electronic document, and there is no liability for this. We urge you to organize a meeting with the operator of the electronic voucher - "National Tourism Technologies" to assess how ready the system is and what tasks it can solve, except for collecting data. You need to understand how much the entire market, and not only large tour operators, are ready for the mandatory use of this system from April 1, 2020, if it is legalized, - said Anna Podgornaya.

Note that representatives of National Tourism Technologies, despite the invitation, did not take part in the round table.

Speaking about the bill, Anna Podgornaya proposed to distinguish in the document the responsibility between tour operators and travel agents due to the fact that a travel agent can conclude an agreement with a consumer without transferring an application to a tour operator.

Following the round table, Sergei Krivonosov appealed to the authors of the bill with a request to take into account the wishes and questions voiced during it in order to make adjustments to the existing document or introduce a new draft law.

For this, there is zero reading to understand the volume of difficulties. There should be preliminary testing of the product, its new version, with the creation of a working group where the results of the system implementation will be monitored and adjusted. In its current form, the subcommittee on tourism does not support the bill, - said Sergey Krivonosov.

Chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Mikhail Degtyarev indicated that reviews, proposals and comments on the bill are accepted to the committee until December 10, 2019.

Speaking with TAdviser about the discussion held during the round table and its results, Sergei Krivonosov focused on the unrealistic deadlines for the mandatory use of the electronic voucher system contained in the bill. According to him, if they remain unchanged, then the adoption of the document will lead tour operators to collapse.

The system is still being audited by the operator, and they already want to make it mandatory for business. It's just not possible. During the round table, the authors of the bill themselves agreed that the deadlines after which tour operators will be excluded from the register for not entering the system, indicated in the bill, are unacceptable. In addition, all the secrecy in which the system is being developed is alarming. The fact that the developer of the system - the company "National Tourism Technologies" - did not appear at the round table is generally puzzling, - said TAdviser Sergey Krivonosov.

He also noted that at the upcoming meeting of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs, the State Duma Tourism Subcommittee will also declare that it does not support the bill on the introduction of an electronic voucher in its current version. Following the meeting, committee members will vote for or against the bill. The committee will also take into account all the feedback received on the document.

"Electronic ticket" hung. The State Duma sounds the alarm

As of October 2019, "Electronic Voucher" has not been launched. Nothing is known about the new period for putting the system into commercial operation. In connection with the current situation, a working group is being created in the State Duma, which will control the launch of the system.

A working group to monitor the implementation of the Electronic Voucher system on the tourist market is being created by Sergei Krivonosov, deputy of the State Duma, chairman of the board of the Association for Economic Interaction of the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation "Union for the Development of Tourism in the Russian Federation." With this initiative, as tourprom.ru points out, the deputy spoke at a meeting of the State Duma subcommittee on physical culture, sports, tourism and youth affairs, held at the end of October.

Due to the fact that the system was planned to be introduced to the market from January of this year, but this did not happen, I propose to create a working group to monitor the introduction of such a tourist protection tool as the "Electronic Ticket," - quotes Krivonosova Turprom

According to the publication, the deputy also argued his proposal to create a working group with the fears of business and tourists caused by the possibility of personal data leakage from the system, difficulties in its integration into the tourist market. In addition, during the meeting, Krivonosov announced information about proposals received from the largest tour operators for the operation of the system.

As of November, the working group is in the formation stage, invitations to join it are still being sent out, the deputy's assistant told TAdviser. She did not provide any details about the TAdviser workgroup.

Note that in July of this year, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Government of the Russian Federation determined the operator of the system the company National Tourism Technologies (a subsidiary of Rostec (state corporation)). At the same time, the government's order indicated that no funds would be allocated from the company's budget for the operation of the system. However, a little earlier, in May of this year, Kommersant reported that Rostec was ready to invest in the development of the system.

The company announced that it could invest 2 billion rubles in the system. In addition, the corporation pointed to plans to launch the system in a truncated form - containing only information about the tours sold and financial guarantees presented by tour operators. With this form, as stated by Rostec, the system can be finalized by the end of 2019.

According to a government order, the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) was supposed to provide the National Tourism Technologies company with access to the system. There was no specific date for granting access in the document. Nevertheless, in response to TAdviser's appeal, Rostec said that access to the National Tourism Technologies company's system was provided with a significant delay - only on October 4.

At present, "National Tourism Technologies" as the operator of the system conducts its audit. According to the results, together with the regulator of the tourism industry - the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Rostourism, further actions on the operation of the system will be determined, - indicated TAdviser in Rostec.

Access to the system of the company "National Tourism Technologies" was provided with a significant delay - only on October 4.

Talking with TAdviser about the creation of the system, the general director of the tour operator Anex Tour Russia Yana Muromova pointed out the importance of participation in its development of software experts used in the tourism industry. The system itself, in order for it to be effective, must be characterized by the absence of a human factor and full integration with the booking system of tour operators. Speaking about the expectations of a full-fledged system launch, she noted the following:

The system will make the market transparent and the working conditions uniform for everyone.

The general director of the Luna tour operator Konstantin Yakhontov, speaking about the system, pointed out to TAdviser that tourism is a very complex and rapidly changing business with countless small details that cannot be rigidly standardized by electronic bureaucratic tools.

The system is likely to be unusable and will place an additional meaningless burden on the operational operation of enterprises, making it difficult and slowing down. In addition, it is obvious that the development and administration of these tools, if any, will be beyond the power of small and medium-sized enterprises, for which this will become an insurmountable barrier in business and will lead to the next stage of bankruptcies, - said Konstantin Yakhontov.

If a foreign counterparty, due to disagreements in payment for services or for some other reason, decides to refuse to serve a tourist, the presence of an internal Russian voucher, even an electronic one, will not help him, - said Konstantin Yakhontov.

In addition, in his opinion, the cumbersome electronic-bureaucratic system served by the company - the "daughter" of the state concern, will require considerable expenses, which in one way or another will lead to an increase in the cost of tourist services, which will fall on the shoulders of the final buyer.

According to the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), a total of 485 million rubles were allocated from the federal budget to the Electronic Ticket system. At the same time, in 2018, during testing, it was found that the system was still significantly underdeveloped.

According to the developers, the system operator does not enter the names himself, but chooses from the reference books in the system. According to market participants, even at the last, third stage of development, the directories of countries, cities, airports, hotels in the system were not cleaned up. So, almost all directories were incorrectly entered into the system: some of the cities in the directory were started in Russian, some in English, there were many unnecessary airports (and in principle non-existent). The countries were established with full names, for example, "Republic of Italy," which extremely complicates data entry, "they say in ATOR.

In addition, the association says that during testing, the system lacked a single unified directory of travel agents, and the mechanism for its formation was inoperable.

Despite the fact that there is no finalized version of the system yet, in May Kommersant already pointed to the prospect of its paid use. "A specific amount has not yet been discussed, but earlier it was said about 200 rubles from each voucher sold," a source told the publication. At the same time, he reported that initially the system for operators will be free.

2018: Transfer of the project to the Rostec structure

At the end of June 2018, it became known that the company included Rostec in the company "National Tourism Technologies" became the operator of the Electronic Ticket information system. The president gave the corresponding order Russia Vladimir Putin on May 17, reports, RBC referring to the representative. "Rostourism"

According to him, the decision of the head of state was the result of a joint appeal to him by Rostec and Rostourism. By June 25, 2018, work is underway "to organize the execution of this order," the Federal Tourism Agency reported.

Rostec's subsidiary has become the operator of a single IT system for the tourist business

For now, tour operators can connect to the "Electronic Voucher" voluntarily. Rosturizm and Rostec proposed "legislative approval of the obligation to use an electronic voucher by market participants," said a representative of the agency. The companies are warned that in the near future the Electronic Ticket will become mandatory, Alexander Osaulenko, director of the Turpomosch association, told the publication.

The system has already been tested by about a hundred tour operators, including NTK Intourist, PAC Group, VIP Service, TUI Russia & CIS. Tour operators interviewed by RBC at the end of 2017 reported that they did not intend to completely switch to the "Electronic voucher." According to them, there are many technical shortcomings in the system.

According to Dmitry Gorin, head of VIP Service, National Tourism Technologies has the technological capabilities to refine and operate the Electronic Voucher. He supported the opinion of Rostourism that the system will become an effective means of protecting tourists and will make the market more transparent.

The interlocutor of RBC, participating in the discussion of the future fate of the "Electronic voucher," believes that the project can be launched from January 1, 2019. Maintenance of the system, according to his estimates, will cost more than 1 billion rubles a year, excluding the cost of refinement.^[5]

2017

Open testing of "Electronic voucher" has started

On September 22, 2017, the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) announced the start of open testing of the Electronic Ticket information system, created by the Asteros group. Travel agencies, tour operators and other interested market participants will be able to evaluate the functionality of the service.

The project implementation is divided into three key stages; as of September 2017, the system integrator is working on the third - last - queue of the system. Before the system is put into commercial operation, scheduled for January 1, 2018, the operation of services and information pages of the system will be checked by tour operators and travel agents themselves. To do this, they just need to go to the "Electronic Voucher" page on the Rostourism website and connect to the test version of the system, following special instructions.

Open testing of the system will take place before its commissioning. 4 key services are available for testing; further, as the system is ready, their number will increase.

It is assumed that during testing, tour operators and travel agents will be able to assess in practice the convenience and quality of the main services of the Electronic Voucher, as well as get acquainted with the operation of the system at the stage of its creation. During the testing period, Asteros specialists will track the work of all nodes of the information system and, based on the results obtained, will finalize the services, taking into account the comments of users. After the launch of the system, both travel market companies and tourists will work with it.

The Electronic Travel information system is very important for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of tourists. It will help increase the transparency of the tourism industry and make the interaction of all market participants and tourists technological. The introduction of digital technologies in tourism will simplify the accounting and control procedures for the sale of tourist products, minimize the possibility of using "gray" schemes by unscrupulous market participants to the detriment of consumers, and for travel companies operating in strict accordance with the law, it will open up opportunities to reduce costs. Testing will allow you to test the system in action and at the final stage of development make it convenient and useful for all categories of users, - Oleg Safonov, head of Rostourism, is convinced.

The project to develop the state information system "Electronic Ticket" goes to the finish line, - said Alexey Denisov, project director of the Asteros group. - Remaining the only executor of the project throughout the creation of the system, we tried to hear the market and take into account all the wishes for its functionality. Now we are ready to provide a number of main IS EP services for assessment by direct users - travel agents and tour operators. For them, this, first of all, is an opportunity to get closer acquainted with the functionality of the system and already at this stage organize the pairing of their systems with the "Electronic Voucher." Obtaining feedback on the results of testing the final sample is the most important stage for us: we will carefully analyze all the comments and, if necessary, finalize the system in accordance with them. This will allow us to ensure the high quality of the product that has passed the "baptism of fire" market.

Asteros defended the right of Rostourism to software of the Electronic Ticket project

As it became known on September 12, 2017, the Asteros company lost the case in court at the suit of the Aeronavigator company, which acted as a subcontractor on the project to create the Electronic Ticket IP, and, as a result, will pay the plaintiff 56.5 million rubles. as debts and interest under the contract. The integrator failed to defend its position in a dispute with Aeronavigator, according to which the subcontractor did not perform the work on time and did not provide consulting services provided for by the subcontract, but was able to prove the indisputable right of Rostourism to the software developed within the framework of the project.^[6]

Ruling in favor of plaintiff

In May 2016, following the tender, Rosturizm signed a contract with Asteros worth 162.1 million rubles for the creation of the second stage of the Electronic Ticket system. After that, the integrator attracted Aeronavigator for subcontracting for 65 million rubles. As indicated by Asteros in court, the company made payments for the work performed by the subcontractor "minus the accrued penalty" in the amount of about 54 million rubles - due to the untimely delivery of work and services not provided.

The decisive argument in deciding in favor of the plaintiff was the fact that preliminary tests of the system, carried out in November 2016 - on the eve of the completion of the contract, were considered successful. Their results were transferred by Asteros to the customer - Rostourism, and the parties "did not claim each other."

On this basis, the court recognized the legality of the claims of Aeronautics, and rejected the counterclaim of Asteros.

Intellectual Property Rights

Nevertheless, according to Alexei Denisov, director of the Electronic Ticket project at Asteros, the company does not quite consider itself a loser following this trial. In its lawsuit against the integrator, Aeronavigator also demanded compensation in the amount of 5 million rubles for violation of exclusive rights to the result of its intellectual activity during the creation of the system. According to the subcontractor, the program part of the project belongs to him, respectively, the rights to it cannot be transferred to Rostourism, and the continuation of the project is illegitimate. The Moscow Arbitration Court refused to satisfy this part of the plaintiff's claims.

Alexey Denisov also added that Asteros "closed part of the work for the subcontractor on its own," in connection with which the filing of an appeal is not excluded.

The development of the "Electronic voucher" will be engaged in "Rostec"

The development of the information system (IS) "Electronic Ticket," developed by the company "Asteros" on behalf of the federal authorities, will be engaged in the concern "Radioelectronic Technologies" (KRET), which is part of Rostec. According to Kommersant^[7], the system where data on all tours sold should be received is planned to be launched in early 2018. However, in the professional environment they argue that there are still many shortcomings in the new system.

The Electronic Travel system will be developed by the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern (KRET), which is part of Rostec

KRET plans to sign a memorandum on the development of the Electronic Voucher with Rostourism as part of the MAKS air show, which will be held from 18 to 23 July 2017. The system itself was launched in test mode at the end of 2015: during the pilot launch, information on 40 thousand rounds and 50 thousand vouchers without specifying personal data was processed. As soon as the IP starts working, each ticket sold in the future will receive a number by which it will be possible to track its status (reservation, prepayment, payment, execution), find out information about the flight, about the hotel and how much insurance coverage of the tour operator corresponds to the volume of its activities.

It is assumed that the system will work normally from the beginning of 2018. Dmitry Gorin, adviser to the head of Rostourism, claims that the Electronic Voucher will increase market transparency, since it can be used to track the payment status of the voucher and demand a refund in case of default.

The IP may contain information about 25 million tourists, - continues Mr. Gorin. - It will process information about visiting (11 million people a year) and domestic (14 million people a year) tours.

According to Rostourism statistics, 70% of trips are issued through tour operators.

At first, participation in IP will be voluntary, during the year it may become mandatory for all market participants, - said Gorin.

As of July 2017, there are 635 outbound tourism operators and 3.7 thousand companies providing tourist services in Russia on the Russian market.

While it is being discussed that for tour operators and agencies, the submission of information to the IP will be free. But the general director of the tour operator Click Voyage Igor Kozlov admits the appearance in the future of a fee for participation in the "Electronic voucher." This is confirmed by the interlocutor of Kommersant, close to Rostourism. In addition, market participants are worried that there are many shortcomings in IP.

The subject of the main dispute (market participants with Rostourism) is the cost that must be indicated in the ticket file. There are five to six kinds of value, they vary. For example, the cost of the travel agent and the cost that he transfers to the tour operator, - says Kozlov.

Among the controversial issues is the control of the operator's personal responsibility fund (for outbound tourism operators, it is formed from deductions in the amount of 1% of turnover over the past year), which guarantees compensation for damage to tourists.

At what point will the reconciliation with the amount of the fund take place, and what turnover does he have the right to go out selling vouchers? - Igor Kozlov argues.

According to Kommersant, within the framework of cooperation with Rostourism, KRET also plans to develop a national tourism portal and promises to promote the construction of a unified rating system for tourist objects. For KRET, such projects are an opportunity to diversify business in an important segment for the company.

Now almost 90% of the company's load is provided by military needs, our task is to increase the share of participation in the civilian sector, "Vladimir Mikheev, adviser to the first deputy general director of KRET, explained to Kommersant.

Prior to that, another Rostec subsidiary, Roselectronics, planned, together with Turkish Airlines, to begin developing a national air ticket booking system, but as of July 2017, this system was not launched.

2016

Completion of the second stage of the project for the creation of GIS "Electronic Ticket"

On December 20, 2016, the Asteros press service announced the completion of the second stage of work as part of the project to create a state information system "Electronic Ticket" commissioned by the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism).

The implementation of the Electronic Voucher project is divided into three key stages. In December 2016, the second stage was completed. Based on the results of the work, the functionality of the existing subsystems was expanded, a functional subsystem for operational control of the activities of tour operators and travel agents was formed and tested, a system for protecting personal data of tourists was put into effect and prepared for certification. All electronic vouchers transferred to the second stage system by tour operators and travel agents are certified by an electronic digital signature. Banks and insurance companies have the opportunity to promptly control the size of bank guarantees and insurance deposits of tour operators.

The creation of the Electronic Voucher information system is aimed at protecting the interests of consumers and preventing crisis situations in the tourism industry. It is designed to increase the transparency and security of the market, become a tool for monitoring the fulfillment of tour operators' obligations to customers and help tourists avoid unscrupulous companies. Thanks to the system, Russians will feel more confident when buying tours, the number of "gray" work schemes and the risks associated with them for the consumer will decrease in the industry, - said Oleg Safonov, head of the federal tourism agency.

The creation of the "Electronic Voucher" information system is unprecedented for us: it is a federal scale, industry solutions unique for our country and the social significance of the project. We managed to do a lot of work together with colleagues from Rostourism. At the moment, the readiness of the system has been brought to 80%. We have achieved the maximum level of protection of information, in particular, personal data of citizens, and are ready to go further. Ahead of us is the main thing - the conclusion of the "Electronic Voucher" into life, the assessment of the market and citizens. This is the most important and critical part of the work for us, and we will make every effort to ensure that the final stage is successful, "added Alexey Denisov, project director of the Asteros group.

2015

Completion of testing of the prototype "Electronic voucher"

On November 25, 2015, the Asteros group announced the completion of testing of the prototype of the Electronic Ticket information system - a development commissioned by the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism).

Federal Tourism Agency

As part of the first stage of work, which implies the technical design of the system and the development of a prototype of the system, Asteros deployed a set of technical means in its own Competence Center, on the basis of which it created a prototype of the future IP.

In order to agree on the regulations for information exchange and development of integration mechanisms between the Electronic Voucher IE and tour operator systems, testing of the prototype by service providers in the field and internal touring segments was organized: NTK Intourist and ITM Group. The approbation involved the developer of software for the automation of tourist activities - Megatek, whose industry solution is used by more than 800 operators throughout Russia.

According to the testing plan, information on 40 thousand rounds and more than 50 thousand vouchers with impersonal personal data was processed in the prototype of the Electronic Ticket.

To test the prototype of the Electronic Voucher, we chose operators from a large and medium-sized business segment specializing in various tourist destinations. Thus, to process data on tours, NTK Intourist has implemented its own information system, and ITM Group uses third-party software available to the mass market. During the testing, we took into account all the wishes of the participants, made appropriate adjustments, prepared and agreed on the regulation of information exchange between all parties. At subsequent stages, integration with software products used by other tour operators will be carried out, - said Alexey Denisov.

As part of the work, the variety and specifics of the provision of services by different suppliers are taken into account. An equally important advantage of the testing company is the ability for each tourist to check the status of his ticket online at any time.

We are faced with the task of ensuring the safety of tourists, being able to prevent negative consequences in case of emergencies, as well as increasing the transparency of the tourist services market. For us, as a regulator, it is very important to see support from players in the tourism market. Separately, I would like to highlight the tour operators NTK Intourist and ITM Group, which took part in testing the developed system. These companies showed their high professionalism in solving the task and the first supported qualitative changes in establishing mechanisms for regulating the tourism industry. The shown initiative of market participants helps in the speed of decision-making and contributes to improving the quality of the work performed. In parallel, we are actively working on the preparation and launch of the regulatory framework. The implemented set of measures will create the necessary platform for a high-quality breakthrough in the development of the tourism industry in Russia, - said Sergey Korneev.

Signing a contract with Asteros for the creation of an "Electronic Voucher"

On July 1, 2015, the Asteros group announced the signing of a contract with the Federal Agency for Tourism for the implementation of the first stage of the project for the creation of the Electronic Ticket information system.

To create modern mechanisms for regulating the tourism market, which help to quickly and reliably collect information about the tourist vouchers sold, the number of tourists who left for the date or period, locations and dates of the end of tourist trips, to organize regulated interaction between participants in the tourist market, the first stage of creating the information system "Electronic Ticket" has begun.

Work on the creation of the information system began in accordance with the instructions of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev (resolution of September 3, 2014 No. DM-P44-65pr) in December 2014, when Rostourism developed and approved the "Concept for the creation of the information system" Electronic ticket. "" In June 2015, a contract was signed between the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) and the Asteros group for the first stage of work, which implies the technical design of the system and subsystems, the development of requirements for their functionality.

It is assumed that IE "Electronic Voucher" will provide:

• transparency,
• control over the activities of tour operators and travel agents of the market in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation,
• the possibility of prompt monitoring and informing about the situation in the industry,
• reporting and statistics, analytical data.

Seven subsystems of the "Electronic Voucher" will promptly process and store data received from tour operators, departments, associations, insurance companies, certification bodies.

The project provides for integration with 10 state, tourist, banking and other information systems, while the computing power of the Electronic Voucher IS will provide information processing from 30 million users of tour operators' services, receive at least four requests per second, and the amount of information for each tourist who applied for the service in the Electronic Voucher IS will contain at least 2 thousand characters. According to the terms of the contract, the system must meet all information security requirements.

The creation of a centralized tourism system will allow achieving a significant and positive social aspect and economic effect for tourists, the industry and the state as a whole, - said Sergey Korneev, deputy head of Rostourism. - First of all, we are talking about reducing the number of unscrupulous travel agencies and excluding fraud in this area. In addition, the implementation of the project will minimize violations of the rights of tourists, increase their safety, simplify the interaction of the tour operator-travel agent, as well as raise the quality of tourist services in Russia.

At the stage of creating the information system "Electronic Ticket" of the 1st stage in 2015, it is planned to develop its prototype. The commissioning of the system is scheduled for the end of 2017, - said Alexey Denisov, project director of the Asteros group. - Without exaggeration, this project is unique in the Russian market: according to our data, no one has 100% identical experience. However, the Asteros project portfolio includes a number of successful cases based on our own solutions, as well as the creation of state systems at the federal level, which will allow us to implement this project efficiently and on time.

Notes