St. Petersburg: Tourist Safety Was Discussed at the Roundtable Conference

(Source: Visit Petersburg)

On December 5, the regular annual roundtable conference on comfortable and safe stay of foreign citizens in St. Petersburg was held. At this event, organized by St. Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development and City Tourist Information Bureau, participants discussed the level of preparedness of St. Petersburg for the upcoming World Football Championship and answered the questions from invited representatives of the consulates in St. Petersburg.

Evgeny Pankevich, Director-General of City Tourist Information Bureau, Dmitry Nikonov, Deputy Head of the Department of Development and Coordination of the Multilevel system for the Offenses Prevention of the Committee on Legality, Law and Security, Dmitry Legenky, First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in St. Petersburg, Andrey Litovka, Head of the Information Support Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Tatyana Safonova and Natalia Blaginina, representatives of the Migration Service of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region, Vladimir Ivanov, Deputy Director of "City Monitoring Center", Marina Elpatievskaya, Head of the Emergency Call Service 112, Yulia Shavel, Head of the press service of the St. Petersburg Metro, took part in the roundtable conference.

In the opening speech, Evgeny Pankevich told about the work of City Tourist Information Bureau. There are 12 information pavilions and offices of Tourist Information Bureau in St. Petersburg now. There tourists can get any necessary information in different languages. The results of work of the mobile information service "I know the city / ask me Spb" were also summed up during the conference. The employees of the mobile service worked on the streets of the Northern capital from May to September 2017.

As Dmitry Nikonov, representative of the Committee on Legality, Law and Security, informed, St. Petersburg is going to host the guests from four continents due to the forthcoming World Football Championship. As one of the host cities, St. Petersburg is responsible for the safety of tourists planning to attend the Championship. In this regard, the city has been holding a number of activities to improve safety of citizens. For example, a special safety information booklet for tourists will be published. It is planned that it will be distributed by hotels, as well as by foreign missions. In addition, this booklet will be published in an electronic form and will be translated into foreign languages.

As for the hotels, safety requirements for them will increase significantly. Dmitry Nikonov also mentioned a significant increase in the number of CCTV cameras on the streets of the city. Also in St. Petersburg were designated 25 high-security zones, where the presence of law enforcement officers will be increased. The high-security zones have included the most interesting places for the guests of the city.

The representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of St. Petersburg also reported on the readiness to host the World Cup. As the First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Legenky, said, Fire and Rescue services will take measures to increase the personnel during the World Cup 2018. He noted the successful experience of the Confederation Cup and confirmed the readiness for any possible situations.

The representatives of the Emergency Call Service 112 echoed them. They are also going to increase the number of employees and provide 24-hours service. The smooth operation will be provided by a specialized data center. There was a call for several emergency services. The work will be conducted in foreign languages. According to the representatives of the Emergency Call Service, the greatest number of applications came from foreign citizens in connection with the request for medical assistance, theft and fraud.

A significant part of the conference focused on the migration registration of foreign citizens during the World Cup in 2018. The nuances of accommodation procedures for foreign citizens in case of theft or loss of their identity document, as well as visa extension for foreign citizens in case of the expiration of the visa were discussed. As is known, in 2017 a special procedure for registration of foreigners was adopted. The whole process is carried out within one working day, the next day after the arrival of the tourist. Since tourists will travel through Russia during the Championship, it should be noted that they must go through this procedure again when moving from city to city. This procedure will be applied only during the World Cup 2018. The rest of the time, registration will take place as usual, in accordance with the Laws of the Russian Federation.

The St. Petersburg Metro also confirmed its readiness for the World Cup. According to the Head of the press service of the St. Petersburg Metro, Yulia Shavel, all security systems comply with the latest requirements. The metro has a situation center, whose purpose is to prompt response to emergencies, as well as an information center, where passengers can get the latest information about the work of stations, the routes of metro lines. This information is also provided in English.