Travel/Tourism
Russia Opposes Tit-for-Tat Visa Requirements to Save Tourism Industry
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The 7th Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, among others, seeks to address obstacles affecting the tourism industry.
Within the context of building internal tourism infrastructure, extra-budgetary investment is necessary for its prompt realization. The federal government and the Far East regional authority have also focused on this development programme these past years.
In general, unprecedented funding has been allocated to speed up the creation of tourism infrastructure. The government has provided the necessary conditions for the synergy of resources so that internal and foreign tourists can travel around at affordable prices and vacation in modern resorts and entertainment destinations.
But efforts have hit a number of setbacks, many political developments are sharply influencing aspects of the industry. Russia’s inbound and outbound tourism virtually collapsed, first due to the two-year COVID-19 lockdown and now largely due to the Ukraine crisis that has brought to the business landscape hefty sanctions. The aviation industry is still struggling to float and maintain normal standard operations.
At the Eastern Economic Forum, the session entitled Travelling to the East: Opportunities for Investors and Tourists panellists distinctively noted negative external factors the tourism industry and argued for measures for its recovery.
Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) head, Zarina Doguzova, is advocating a review of policies negatively impacting the industry.
She considers Foreign Affairs Ministry’s consular services crippling the development of the tourism industry and that Russia is longer friendly due to its tit-for-tat responses to external countries.
Doguzova explained in an interview with Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) on the sidelines of the forum that the necessary measures to sustain tourism including the launch of an electronic visa program for citizens of 52 countries, including those Russia has designated as “unfriendly” ones in the near future.
Russia earlier planned to launch e-visas for citizens of 52 countries, including European nations, she said. Certainly, there is the need to do some information work and launch an ad campaign. Many fear visiting us for various obvious reasons as a direct result of consistent confrontations and geopolitical changes.
“Foreign tourists help make dozens of billions of dollars around the world. These are big revenues which would stimulate the development of infrastructure and help create new jobs. It’s strategically important to communicate our position to the world, so that tourists, citizens of countries whose governments are taking unfriendly steps toward our country, would have a chance to see Russia,” Doguzova said.
Earlier during a meeting of the Russian State Council praesidium dealing with the development of tourism on September 6, Doguzova asked President Vladimir Putin to revisit the plans to launch e-visas for citizens of 52 countries, without following the reciprocity principle, which Russia usually sticks to as concerns visas.
Putin suggested elaborating on this proposal “without clinging to reciprocity.” while addressing the forum session, Putin said Russia would not respond symmetrically to the European Union’s decision to suspend the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia.
He expressed the desire to develop the idea of expanding the practice of visa-free travel for citizens of specific countries, including those visiting Russia on organized group tours and further proposed developing bilateral cooperation on establishing a visa-free travel framework with foreign countries.
“I would suggest talking not about certain [nations with whom visa-free travel could be established]. Nothing should be imposed on anyone. One should just talk about cooperation on a bilateral track. As regards establishing visa-free travel on a bilateral basis in order to facilitate mutual visits, advice is needed from the Foreign Ministry,” he said.
“In principle, I wouldn’t be holding on to reciprocity in this case. I know a general principle that the Foreign Ministry has, which is the reciprocity principle. When it comes to serving our interests, all these principles should be used, where this is beneficial. If something creates obstacles for us, what are such principles for? One could be more flexible,” Putin said.
Russians have restricted their foreign travel due to the current global changes especially the confrontation between the United States, Europe and Russia. According to the European Council decision published in the EU Official Journal, the European Union members suspended the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia.
“The application of the Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation (‘the Agreement’) is suspended in whole as regards citizens of the Russian Federation, as from 12 September 2022,” the statement says on its website. It is assumed that the cost of visas and the terms of their registration will increase significantly, and the issuance of visas for tourist purposes will be the last priority of consulates.
Poland and Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have coordinated restrictions for Russians. In their statement, Poland and the Baltic states expressed concern “about the substantial and growing influx of Russian citizens to the European Union and the Schengen area through our borders. We believe that this is becoming a serious threat to public security and to the overall shared Schengen area,” according to the European Commission.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A travel card designed for tourists, business visitors, Diaspora returnees has been launched by Verve in partnership with Providus Bank.
Known as the ProvidusVerve Travel Card, the Naira-based travel card will allow inbound travellers to enjoy a smooth, secure, and convenient payment experience throughout their stay in Nigeria. It was powered by Verve’s secure.
Created to support the surge of tourists, expatriates, business visitors, conference delegates, and returning diaspora expected during the festive Detty December season, the ProvidusVerve Travel Card enables seamless payments for transportation, hotels, dining, shopping, entertainment, and everyday essentials nationwide.
The card also works on select global merchant platforms that accept Verve, including Netflix, Google Play, and other digital services, ensuring travellers enjoy uninterrupted access to familiar services.
The ProvidusVerve Travel Card eliminates the hassle of sourcing naira or converting foreign currency on arrival. It enables instant, secure transactions, reduces reliance on cash, and supports compliance with the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It also mitigates the risks associated with carrying physical cash such as loss, theft, or fraud, offering a safe, regulation-aligned option for both online and in-person payments.
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card is a timely solution for inbound travellers seeking reliability, security, and simplicity while navigating Nigeria.
“Together with Providus Bank, we have created a product that eliminates the friction traditionally associated with accessing local payments.
“Whether for tourism, business, or festive activities, this card ensures a smooth financial experience from the moment visitors land,” the Vice President for Issuing and Acquiring Management for Africa at Verve International, Mr Paul Ohakim, stated.
On his part, the Divisional Head for Product Management and Solution Delivery at Interswitch, Mr Ademola Adeniran, described the partnership as a reflection of “Verve’s commitment to designing products that respond to real user needs.”
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card supports everyday experiences — from booking rides and hotels to shopping, streaming, and dining. It provides inbound travellers with a secure, compliant, digital-first way to experience Nigeria without financial barriers,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that the federal government may recover and sell the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations.
The Minister disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the Ministry’s fourth quarter stakeholders’ engagement to enhance governance for effective service delivery in aviation.
Speaking at the event themed “leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will be directed to probe why funds trapped by the airline are yet to be refunded.
He revealed that the authority suspended the operations of the airline as a matter of choice between safety and disaster.
“For Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster. So we didn’t take the commercial thing as priority. The priority was safety, and we all looked at the damning reports that we had met on the table.
“It was a decision of the NCAA to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety record, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk. If they continue flying, I don’t know whether most of us will be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”
According to him, “I have asked Najomo (NCAA director general) to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that.
“One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to go and register a new AOC or use any business within the aviation sector, they have to go and settle their debts first.
“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets. Let’s cannibalize their revenue and pay people. Let’s find a way to go after their assets and get money to pay Nigerians who are owed.
“NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has imposed a N5 million penalty on Qatar Airways for consumer protection violations.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, on X, adding that there may be other sanctions depending on how the airline treats other cases.
“Glad to announce that, today, the NCAA has sanctioned @qatarairways to the tune of five million naira being penalty for consumer protection-related infractions. In addition, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily,” Mr Achimugu wrote.
The fine followed an incident when a Nigerian passenger was accused by a Qatar Airways cabin crew member of sexual harassment during boarding in Lagos for a flight to the United States via Doha, Qatar.
The allegation was only reported in Doha, where the passenger was arrested, detained for 18 hours, fined, and compelled to sign a document written solely in Arabic.
Qatar Airways allegedly refused to continue his journey, forcing him to purchase another ticket at considerable financial and reputational cost.
The NCAA said it invited Qatar Airways’ country manager to a meeting over the incident, but he failed to attend, sending subordinates instead.
“I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don’t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.
“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” Mr Achimugu said in an earlier post.
In September, the NCAA accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers and failing to comply with consumer protection regulations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
The regulator then threatened stiff penalties against the airline for repeatedly disregarding its directives.
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