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USEFUL ADVICE
1. How to choose a tourist company?
When choosing a tour agency one should bear in mind their experience in the market and the staff’s qualification. It is recommended that 30% of company tour-operators should have been working in tourism industry not less than 5 years or they should have a special professional education in tourism. Tour agents (not less than 20% of them) should have worked in tourism industry for 3 years or should have been taught tourism profession.
Also, when choosing a tourist company one could be guided by the following criteria:
• the positive former experience of dealing with the tourist company, for example, when some friends or relatives have used their services;
• the company is well known in the tourist industry and has got a good reputation.
If you, nevertheless, want to use an unknown company, please, pay attention and be on your guard as to the following:
• the price of the tour differs from the same in other companies for more than 100 ˆ;
• the company managers are not sure in strategies, products and technologies of tourist services. In this case we advise you to use some other company.
2. How to make oneself secure against troubles when buying a tour?
When you visit a tourist company’s office, pay attention to whether there is some required equipment in it:
• a signboard with the full information of the tour agency’s or tour-operator’s name, its legal address, working hours;
• equipped working places for the staff;
• special safes to keep money and strict forms of reporting;
• chairs (armchairs) for visitors;
• technical devices (communication, computers, copiers, etc);
• advertising prospects, catalogues of separate tours.
In accordance with the Federal Law «On Protection of Consumer’s Rights» and GOST 50690-2000 the office should have an easily accessible information stand for the consumers with the following information:
• a copy of the Certificate of State Registration of the juridical body or of the private businessman who is not a corporate body;
• a copy of the Certificate of Conformity, the Licence for using the sign of conformity (if there is such a Certificate of Conformity, because certification of tourist services is voluntary);
• general rules of selling tourist services;
• forms of papers which are filled in when selling tour produce (copies of contracts, vouchers, booking applications, instructions, etc);
• working hours, services and produce offered.
3. Concluding a contract.
In accordance with the article 10 of the Federal Law «On the Basis of Tourist Activities in the Russian Federation» selling the tourist produce is possible only by concluding a contract. The contract is made in written form and should correspond to the laws of the Russian federation, including the laws of protecting the consumer’s rights.
Essential are the following terms of the Contract:
• information on a tour-operator or tour agent (seller), including his or her legal address and bank requisites;
• information on a tourist (buyer) necessary for buying the tour;
• reliable information on consuming properties of the tour produce, including programme and route of the tour, safety regulations for tourists, results of the tour produce certification;
• date and time of the tour’s beginning and end, its duration;
• tourists receiving, seeing off, accompanying; rights and duties of the parties;
• retail price of the tourist produce and ways of payment for it;
• minimal number of tourists in a group, deadline for informing tourists of the failure to start a tour in case the company was unable to get the minimum of tourists in the group;
• terms of changing and annulment of the contract, ways of settling the controversies arising and compensation of the losses of the parties;
• order and time limits of tourist’s laying claims.
Other terms of the contract are agreed by the parties.
Tourist has a right to demand all the services envisaged by the tour programme of the tour-operator or tour agent irrespective of who should provide for these services. Each of the parties has a right to demand changes or annulment of the contract in connection with the essential changes of the circumstances from which the parties proceeded while concluding the contract.
Essential changes of circumstances are the following:
• deterioration of the tour conditions, changes of time and date of the tour;
• inability to get the number of tourists in the group necessary to start the tour;
• unforeseen rise of transportation tariffs;
• introduction of new or higher taxes and dues;
• sharp rise in national currency rate.
Concrete trip conditions, retail price of the tourist produce are given in a tour voucher issued to a tourist by a tour-operator or tour agent. The tour voucher is a written acceptance of the tour-operator’s or tour agent’s offer to sell the tourist produce and is an integral part of the Contract, as well as a document of primary accounting for a tour-operator or tour agent.
4. Indemnification for losses when the contract is annulled.
Indemnification for losses when the contract is annulled is done in accordance with the real losses of the parties. Claims as to the quality of the tourist produce are made in written form to the tour-operator or tour agent during 20 days since the date of the contract’s expiry and should be satisfied during 10 days after the claim was accepted. Regulations of financial matters between the tour-operator or the tour agent and other persons who granted the services envisaged by the tour are made on the basis of the tour voucher. In case the claim is not satisfied voluntarily the consumer has a right to apply to the bodies which are to guard customers’ rights or to the court in the place of a plaintiff’s or a defendant’s residence, as well as to lodge a complaint with a licence issuing body.
5. Information provision.
In accordance with the current laws a tourist company (executor, seller) should give the complete and true information on the services which provides for a good choice among them. The tourist company selling its produce should also give tourists instructions where a true information on the rules of temporary stay in every country, on local traditions and customs, on religious ceremonies, sacred places, on monuments of nature, history, and culture, other tourist objects which are specially protected, on the environmental conditions. Also, a tourist company should give information on countries which are not recommended for visiting or are unsafe for life or health. In accordance with the current laws and international conventions a tourist while planning a tour, on a tour, or a transit visit, has a right to have:
• necessary and true information on the rules of entering a country (or a place) of his temporary visit and stay, on local people’s customs, on religious ceremonies, sacred places and objects, monuments of nature, history, and culture, other tourist objects which are specially protected, on the environmental conditions;
• tourist’s personal safety and his rights as a consumer provided for, his property guarded, urgent medical care received without hindrance;
• local authorities’ assistance in a country (place) of temporary visit or stay in getting legal and other kinds of urgent help;
• access to communication without hindrance.
A consumer has a right to get tourist services which are safe for his life and health, for environment, as well as his property. Tourist accommodation, transportations means, tourist equipment and devices should meet the requirements of safety envisaged by normative (legal) acts of the country (place) of temporary visit or stay of tourists. An organization which renders excursion services should have instructions for guides and accompanying staff to provide for the safety of tourists while on excursions, and a register of staff instructing.
When a bus excursion is held the organization which renders excursion services should have:
• rules of behaviour in a bus;
• driver’s instruction to provide for tourists’ safety;
• agreement with the transportation company or private businessman who has a Certificate of Conformity with the safety requirements white transporting passengers.
In order to provide for maximum safety of life, health and property on a trip it is recommended along with standard medical insurance to buy additional insurances, for example, against inability to start the trip, or against accidents, etc.
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