Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law providing for the certification of guides who conduct tours in Russian sign language for the hearing impaired. The relevant document was published on the official legal publication website.
The law requires that when promoting their services online, tour guides, interpreter guides, and mountain guides must provide their full name, unique registration number from the federal registry, and a link to that registry entry. For mountain guides, the type and difficulty category of the route must also be added.
Ad aggregator platforms and service websites will be required to check the registry link and verify that the provided information matches the registry. These platforms will not allow the publication of false information and will stop displaying a guide's information if their certification is revoked or if there is a discrepancy.
Regional tourism authorities and delegated subordinate organizations will be able to instruct aggregator platforms to suspend the purchase of services on their sites if a violation is detected.
The law also updates the identification information on guides' badges. In addition to a photo and full name, the badge will now include a QR code linking to the registry page, the unique registration number, and a list of the regions of the Russian Federation, municipalities, or national tourist routes for which the guide is certified. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development will approve the general requirements for this badge.
As part of state oversight, in addition to guide information on the internet, checks will also be conducted to verify whether an accommodation facility exists at the real estate address where hospitality activities are actually carried out.
The law also adds non-compliance of water with health standards as a new ground for suspending beach classification. It introduces a new basis for removing a hotel from the registry if no building exists at the address, and clarifies that regional state oversight may be carried out by subordinate organizations in the event of delegation of authority.
Putin had previously said that everything must be done to support Russian sign language, which is used by about 200,000 people in Russia.
