A trip to “unfriendly countries”, some of which Russian tour operators continue to sell tours, for Russian travelers can be extremely dangerous. This opinion was expressed by lawyers from the tourist business Baiborodin and Partners on their channel in Yandex.Zen.
These are the following tourist destinations: Greece, Cyprus, Indonesia and Japan. They are classified by the Russian authorities as “unfriendly” states. Earlier, at one of the latest briefings, “be extra careful when planning trips abroad, especially to unfriendly countries,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also advised earlier.
What do lawyers think about this issue?< /strong>
According to lawyer Alexander Baiborodin, there is no law that would directly impose a ban on travel to countries on the list of unfriendly countries, but it is better for compatriots to listen to the statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry. “The comment of the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not a basis for recognizing such tours as unsafe. Therefore, if a tourist has already purchased a tour to Cyprus and, for some reason, after Maria Zakharova’s speech changes his mind about flying there, then the contract for the provision of tourist services will be terminated on a general basis, minus the costs incurred by the tour operator,” he explained.
However, there are several important points that can threaten a tourist with trouble:
- Firstly, a traveler who has already bought a ticket “may be denied entry directly in the country from the list unfriendly or deported from it”. In this case, the claim presented to the organizer of the tour with the requirement to return the money can theoretically be satisfied by the court. However, the travel agency can protect itself if it warns tourists in writing about possible problems with entering “unfriendly” countries even before the start of the trip.
- Secondly, emergency situations in the host country, in which the Russian consulate can't help. For example, these are such frequent troubles as the loss of documents, accidents, etc. “Under normal circumstances, you can count on help from the Russian consulate. But in countries that were recognized as unfriendly, the staff of diplomatic missions was significantly reduced. Experts have spoken about this many times. First of all, this concerns the European Union, said Yury Barzykin, Vice-President of the PCT. Yes, the opportunity to go there remains, but in an emergency there may be problems with obtaining legal assistance and consular support,” the expert added. In this case, those who left will have to rely mainly on their own abilities.
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