St. Petersburg, Jul 5 (IANS): Tourists visiting St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, will be required to pay a resort fee in 2024, the local government announced.

According to a decree signed recently by Governor Alexander Beglov, a pilot resort fee system will be introduced in St. Petersburg's hotels from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, reports Xinhua news agency.

The rate will be set at 0 rubles for the initial phase until April 1, 2024, and from this time on, each tourist will be charged 100 rubbles ($1.1) per day.

No resort fee will be charged on the day of arrival, and more than 20 categories of residents will be exempted from paying the fee, including veterans of the Great Patriotic War, families with many children and people permanently working in the city on the basis of an employment contract or service contract.

Resort fees collected by hotels will go to the city budget and are supposed to be directed to the preservation, restoration and development of the tourism infrastructure, the city's press service said.