MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. About 117,000 Russians who had difficulty returning home have been brought back from foreign countries, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

"About 117,000 of our compatriots who had trouble returning home have been repatriated," he said during a meeting between the Russian government and the representatives of the tourism industry.

The deputy prime minister noted that the government provides support to those companies, including tour operators, that are bringing back Russians from abroad. Over 10 bln rubles (over $118 mln) have been earmarked for this purpose.

In addition to the funds provided by the national project on tourism and hospitality, to date, the federal budget has earmarked more than 20 bln rubles (more than $237 mln) for the immediate support of the tourism industry and the public, which is almost half of the entire national project’s budget. The government worked out and approved about 200 measures involving various spheres of economy, including the tourism industry, the official said.

For instance, a decision was made to set a zero VAT rate with regards to hotel services. According to the instructions of the Russian president, the immediate support measures in the sphere of tourism also include subsidies for children camps packages. The deputy prime minister stressed that a new measure that had already been supported by the government should be implemented as soon as possible - it involves the construction of modular hotels, campgrounds and car camp sites.