Rostourism took 301 companies off its Unified Register of Tour Operators recently. For one, Yekaterinburg International Tourism Bureau Sputnik was among the excluded operators, the Association of Russian Tour Operators reports.

According to what Deputy Head of Rostourism’s Legal Department Gennady Chutkin said at the Public Chamber meeting on changes in the tourist legislation, normally only about ten to fifteen companies get excluded from the register.

‘301 businesses is an impressive figure. They might steel be able to renew their financial guarantees and make it back to the register. However, we can see that a lot of tour operators are insolvent, so barriers must be set for companies like this,’ Chutkin said; he also suggested that travelers check whether a tour operator is actually in the register or not.