The meeting on the creation of tourism infrastructure in specially protected natural areas within the framework of the national project "Ecology"

The meeting was chaired by Ivan Shmakov, Director of the Department of State Policy and Regulation in the Field of Development of Specially Protected Natural Areas and the Baikal Natural Territory of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation.

During the meeting, a number of issues related to the implementation of measures for the development of tourist infrastructure in the framework of the federal project were considered. The participants discussed various approaches and areas of concern, including determining and calculating the anthropogenic impact generated by the ecotourism infrastructure on the natural ecosystems of national parks. “Our main goal in the framework of the federal project is to increase the number of visitors to the specially protected natural areas by at least 4 million people by 2024. At the same time, it is important to ensure the conservation of natural territories,” I. Shmakov pointed out.

During the meeting the participants submitted the criteria of the selection of national parks eligible for funding within the framework of the Federal project “Biodiversity Conservation and the Development of Ecological Tourism” in 2019, including the dynamics of tourist flow over the past 5 years, transport accessibility, income from tourism and other services, expected increase in revenue from tourism services provided, the availability of tourism infrastructure and facilities to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities, expected increase in tourist flow in connection with the implementation of measures to create infrastructure.

During the event, it was emphasized that the formulation of objective and open selection criteria for territories is an important element in the development of tourism infrastructure in national parks. At the end of the event the participants agreed that, in addition to the key performance indicators related to the increase of the number of visitors in natural areas, it is crucial to strike a balance between the development and the conservation of biodiversity, as well as to promote the involvement of businesses, regional authorities, tour operators and local residents in the development of ecotourism in specially protected natural areas.

Source: Press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation

Опубликовано: 10 October 2019