Tourist Tax in Russia: Prospects for Improving the Taxation Mechanism to Maintain the Volume of Tourist Flows

Introduction . Amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on the implementation of the tourist tax enacted in 2025 made it relevant to find a balance between the interests of municipalities to replenish the budgets and maintain the volume of tourist flows in the context of tax burden increase on the tourism business. Scientists have studied the foreign practices of tourist tax implementation and its positive impact on the development of inbound tourism has been proved, however, no comprehensive research has been carried out on the efficiency of taxation mechanism with regard to the studied field. The aim of the present study is to analyse the acting tax legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as some municipal practices and identify the ways to improve the tourist tax implementation mechanism for maintaining the volume of tourist flows in the new conditions. Materials and Methods . The research was based on the following materials: the acting legislation of the Russian Federation, scientific studies, municipal legal acts of Ekaterinburg, and publications in the media. To determine the features of tax legislation implementation in the context of maintaining the tourist flows, the authors used the methods of teleological interpretation, modeling, structural-functional and systemic analysis. Results . It has been ascertained that for the development of the inbound tourism, the tourist tax implementation mechanism should be flexible, i.e. take into account the features of the tourist routes existing in the whole region and in the individual municipalities, as well as consider the seasonal changes. Such a comprehensive approach will require close public-private partnership aimed at implementing this tax. However, as follows from Ekaterinburg experience, cooperation between these structures is not always maintained at the proper level. It has been found that maintaining the volume of tourist flows in the context of rising costs of accommodation facilities, requires the development of the tourism infrastructure. A decrease in the volume of tourist flows due to collection of the tourist tax indicates insufficient development of the taxation mechanism in a particular region. Annual discussions of the practices used in the municipalities and regions on this matter will improve the taxation mechanism. Discussion and Conclusion . Improvement of the tourist tax implementation mechanism will prevent the tourist flow decrease, thus, help to avoid a blow to the inbound tourism. According to the authors, to achieve this goal, it’s necessary first of all to revise a list of tax concessions based on the popularity of the tourist routes and seasonal load, as well as improve the public-private partnership.