The Regional Management Center hosted a series of events dedicated to World Tourism Day. As part of the business program, a strategic session "Tourism of the Murmansk Region" and a meeting with representatives of the hospitality industry were held, which were attended by the Governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis.
"In recent years, we have managed to achieve significant results in the development of the tourism industry. Last year alone, a record 761,000 people visited the Murmansk Region. Every third tourist visiting the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation chooses the Kola Arctic. The contribution of tourism to the region's GRP exceeded 3.1%, which is higher than the national average. And I take this opportunity to congratulate everyone on their professional holiday! Each of you is the face of our guest area. You are the ones through whom tourists taste the North. And this is a big responsibility. You have everything to truly make a person fall in love with the North. But you can also leave conflicting impressions. Remember how important this is and how much depends on you," Andrey Chibis addressed the participants.
During the strategic session, projects on key areas of development of the tourism industry were presented. The participants worked on six thematic blocks: inbound tourism, gastronomic tourism, after-sales service, tourism personnel, domestic tourism and promotion of the region's tourism brand.
As a result of the work of the strategic session, four of the most promising projects were presented. Among them are the "Arctic Traveler's Suitcase", which is a set of attributes for a comfortable, informative and memorable trip; "Polar Day", an umbrella brand of events to promote a unique natural phenomenon for foreign guests; "Gastronomic diving", which offers immersion in the atmosphere of a unique Arctic cuisine; as well as the "Children of the Arctic" program. aimed at stimulating travel for children and youth audiences.
"The presented projects demonstrate the enormous potential of our region in the field of tourism. I would especially like to mention the Polar Day initiative, which is indeed our undervalued growth area, which can attract wealthy tourists from all over the world to the region. The children's tourism program is equally important. It will not only introduce the younger generation to the unique nature of the Kola Arctic, but will also attract families with children from other regions of the Russian Federation to the region," said Andrey Chibis.
After that, the head of the region held a meeting with entrepreneurs of the tourism industry, during which he presented letters of thanks for their conscientious work, professionalism and great contribution to the development of the tourism industry of the Murmansk region.
"Tourism is becoming a real incentive for the development of infrastructure that improves the quality of life of Northerners. A striking example is the new airport, which we plan to open by the end of the year, and we already understand that another similar project will be required soon, as passenger traffic continues to grow steadily. The modernization of airports in Murmansk and Apatity is a direct consequence of the tourist boom. Without the guests visiting our region, such transformations simply would not have happened, which means that the lives of local residents would have remained less comfortable," Andrei Chibis addressed the participants.
The head of the region paid special attention to the quality of services.
"The number of market participants has also grown significantly: today there are 82 regional tour operators operating in the region, which is twice as many as six years ago. The number of certified guides has reached 196 people, including 26 translation guides. We are planning to re-certify the guides. This is a matter of respect for the generations that developed and protected the Kola Peninsula. The guides should not be allowed to mislead the guests. In the near future, we will double the number of certifications and will actively work on legalizing the industry so that legitimate businesses can be competitive," the governor stressed.
In addition, Andrey Chibis noted measures to support the industry.
"Over the past five years, 135 projects worth 400 million rubles have been supported through federal and regional programs, and entrepreneurs have invested more than 500 million rubles. This made it possible to rapidly improve the infrastructure for the growing tourist flow," said the head of the region.
The event ended with an informal meeting between the governor and representatives of the tourism industry in a question-and-answer format. During the discussion, the participants discussed the development of road infrastructure in popular tourist destinations, including Teriberka, issues of attracting Chinese tourists and adapting services for foreign visitors, as well as the problems of shadow business in the industry. Andrey Chibis confirmed plans to tighten the requirements for certification of guides and stressed the need to create equal competitive conditions for all market participants.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /