1,548 outbound Tour Operators have been officially registered in Russia at the end of 2009, as a result of the new financial guarantee system introduced in 2007. The amount paid by each Tour operator is determined by their annual turnover. According to the official List, 37 operators (2.5%) of TO's submitted guarantees covering $ 3 million RUR, 47 TO's (4%) - submitted guarantees of $2 million and the rest 1,464 companies (94.5%) provided guarantees of $ 1 million. Due to the introduction of financial guarantees, the no. of Russian TO's has reduced by 10-15% with regional TO's being the most affected. Many TO's have now converted into Travel agents to avoid the expenses for being a TO.