New hotels, routes and points of attraction: the prospects of tourism were discussed at the Exposition

On June 12, the RUSSIA EXPO held a plenary session "International Tourism. Russia and the World". It was held as part of the IV Russian Tourism Forum "Travel! " — the central event in the sphere of tourism and hospitality. The session focused on the development of domestic tourism and the development of international cooperation in the sphere of leisure and travel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants and organizers of the forum.

"It is gratifying that in recent years tourism in Russia is developing dynamically, becoming a significant factor in strengthening the economic, infrastructural potential of settlements, cities and entire regions, contributes to the successful solution of demanded tasks in the field of education and enlightenment, patriotic education of young people, preservation of our rich historical, cultural and spiritual heritage. And of course, the tourism industry creates conditions for the expansion of entrepreneurial and creative initiative, growth of related spheres: construction and catering, healthcare and trade. New jobs are opened, hotels, cafes and restaurants are built, popular vacation spots are improved, fascinating sightseeing tours are developed, interesting souvenirs are produced, " Vladimir Putin said in his greeting.

Tourism is the fastest growing sector of the economy, said Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko.

"According to Vladimir Putin's decision, the national project ‘Tourism and Hospitality Industry’, which ensured the take-off of our tourism industry, has been extended until 2030. This gives very clear, understandable prospects for the entire industry. We have set ambitious goals to increase the share of tourism in GDP up to 5%, to increase exports of travel services and the number of tourist trips up to 140 million. We have a lot of things to surprise tourists and can offer a variety of types of recreation: sea, ski resorts, historical cities, thermal springs, balneology, industrial and ecological tourism. Today we will talk about what more needs to be done to create attractive conditions for recreation in our country, including for our foreign guests," emphasized Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Tourism is developing largely due to changes in transport infrastructure, improvement and business attention to the industry, said the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Reshetnikov. Now it is a point of growth in the economy, a space for investment, and an opportunity for residents to have a vacation in their country. And people actively use it — it is anticipated that the number of tourist trips in 2024 will reach 90 million, reported the head of the Ministry of Economic Development. To achieve the national project's goal of 140 million trips, efforts are being made in three key areas: expanding accommodation capacity, creating new attractions, and developing transportation infrastructure.

"Currently the room stock in Russia is one million. In order to reach the target figures, we will need to create another 240 thousand rooms by 2030. We are actively working to achieve this goal — we have programs to support modular and large hotels. More than 240 places of accommodation for 57 thousand rooms are now under construction," Maxim Reshetnikov told.

In addition, Russia has launched major projects to create new tourist points of interest — in particular, plans to create 22 new ski slopes, amusement parks and water parks across the country have already been selected, the minister said. There are also plans to create several large amusement parks so that people from anywhere in the country can reach them with their families in 3-4 hours. Another major project is "Five Seas and Lake Baikal", which will give a boost to the regions. In terms of transport, the Ministry of Economic Development is working with specialized organizations to modernize airports, create new long-distance railway routes and create infrastructure for car tourism.

"Undoubtedly, the development of inbound tourism is extremely important for us. This year, we have seen a 50% increase in this indicator in the first few months. We are now launching a program to promote our tourism products in foreign markets. Our target countries are the Persian Gulf states, China, and India. We have also started working more closely with Southeast Asian countries," Maxim Reshetnikov informed.

The electronic visa, launched last year for foreign tourists, has proved itself well, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development noted. For 10 months it was used by 400 thousand people. It is planned to reduce its cost in the future, and to simplify obtaining it. The Ministry is also negotiating the abolition of visas with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia and Myanmar. A number of agreements are expected to be signed by the end of this year.

The session was attended by representatives of domestic and foreign specialized agencies, legislative authorities, tourism associations and businesses. They discussed international cooperation in the field of tourism, industry logistics and investments, as well as exchanged experience in international promotion of tourist products and marketing in this area.

The IV Russian Tourism Forum "Travel!" takes place within the RUSSIA EXPO from June 12 to 16. This is a large-scale event that presents Russia's powerful tourism potential, international tourism and demonstrates the diversity of travel. The organizer is the Roscongress Foundation. The Forum is held with the official support of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, ANO "National Priorities", the Centre for Strategic Research and leading industry associations. The Forum combines a business program and a tourism festival.