A possible ban on the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens, which is currently being discussed in European countries, caused a stir with their receipt.
Russian tourists en masse apply for Schengen visas, while half of the applicants want to get a visa in advance in order to travel to Europe during the autumn holidays, reports GreekReporter.
Many experts predict that if the possibility of obtaining Schengen visas is closed to Russians, then ready-made documents will cease to be valid. Nevertheless, the number of applicants has grown by 40%, says Marina Shirokova, head of the corporate department at Visakhod. The peak came at the end of last week, after Estonian statements on entry ban for Russians. Shirokova draws attention to the fact that if the possibility of obtaining Schengen visas is closed to Russians, most likely, the already issued documents will cease to be valid.
According to Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of the Russian Federation, the Russian tourist flow to Europe has recovered by about 5-10% from the pre-crisis level. The main directions are Greece, France, Italy, Spain. Most tourists use transit through Finland and the Baltic countries. Although Jussi Tanner, head of the consular service of the Finnish Foreign Ministry, has already said that the transit flow of tourists, if possible, will be limited.
The greatest demand today, as Alina Protsenko, head of the visa support department at Aeroclub Tour, notes, is visas from Sweden, Greece, France, Finland, Spain and Italy, Switzerland and Germany, Austria and Hungary.
She says that the situation reminds her of the past, before the visa centers appeared. The process of paperwork became more complicated, the terms of consideration increased. But the main problem is to find recording slots, they have to be tracked not only during working hours.
Earlier, Mikhail Mishustin, the head of the Russian government, said that a new package of trips to Russia with cashback will start selling from August 25. The maximum amount of cashback has doubled to 40,000 rubles, so now Russian tourists will be able to go to the Far East.
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