Destinations: the state program "Tourism Development" will be expanded in 2025
From 2025 Russian regions will be able to receive federal co-financing for the development of tourism for the improvement of public spaces, development of coastal infrastructure, landslide control and shore protection works, according to the press service of the government. How this will affect Russian tourism and what issues need to be addressed to improve the conditions of travelers - in the material "Izvestia".
New products
Tourism contributes to the development of more than 50 related industries and creates prospects for the development of entrepreneurial activity, forms points of growth in many regions. Many measures of state support for the industry were tested during the pandemic, noted in a conversation with "Izvestia" Associate Professor of the Department of Management in International Business and Tourism Industry GUU Vadim Zhukov.
- Now, amid the growth of the domestic tourism market, the priority has shifted from anti-crisis to stimulating support measures to help the industry unlock its potential. From 2025 regions will receive subsidies for the construction of infrastructure to create year-round resorts under the new federal project "Five Seas and Lake Baikal", - he said.
The volume of planned investments is estimated at 1.5 trillion rubles, of which 300 billion is planned to be taken from the federal budget during 2025-2030 to create the supporting infrastructure, and the rest of the funds will be attracted from private investors as part of the implementation and development of public-private partnership mechanisms.
Tourists on vacation on the shore of Lake Baikal
Today domestic tourism is developing according to the extensive scenario, says Alexander Preobrazhensky, a senior lecturer of the Department of "Management in the Hospitality Industry" of the IOM Presidential Academy, head of the Professional Commission of the Moscow Association of Travel Agencies (MATA). And so far this strategy is working, as Russia needs to increase the tourist potential of the regions and create an assortment of good and interesting tourist products.
- The task is to constantly open new horizons, new products, create new offers. And then tourists will be happy to return to their favorite places in the hope that each time they will be surprised with new offers, and the place itself will be year after year becoming more beautiful and comfortable for recreation. And an important role in this is played by landscaped roads, parks and public spaces with modern infrastructure. Improvement, reconstruction, new design solutions will undoubtedly contribute not only to the inflow of new tourists, but will also create a flow of regular guests of a place, - said "Izvestia" expert. - And a regular client is a guarantee of stable development and the best advertising in the format of word of mouth.
Tourists at the sarga ritual poles at Burkhan Cape on Olkhon Island
The authorities of the country and regions began to pay attention to infrastructure and public spaces for tourists. This indicates that there is a trend towards intensive development of tourism, i.e. the country is moving from the development "in breadth" to the development of the deep essence of the tourist product.
- One of the most popular trends of modern tourism is the new in the old, in the already known. That is, a modern tourist is not against discovering new places where he has not been yet, but he prioritizes visiting a place he already knows, which offers something that has not been there before. An example is the "new reading" of water tourism on Russian rivers. We know and love steamboat cruises, many people prefer rafting or kayaking, and it would seem impossible to offer something new in this segment of travel. But let's take a look at our small rivers. And we will see that they are empty," Alexander Preobrazhensky noted.
Tourists near the North Chuysky Ridge in the Altai Mountains
Meanwhile, Russia is the second largest inland water basin in the world. And this is a potential for business and for tourists.
- I am talking about the organization of independent trips on the rivers of Russia on rented cabin boats. The leader of world tourism in this direction annually organizes 100 thousand trips on the rivers of Europe and Canada. The representative of this company in our country in the pre-pandemic period organized trips on rental boats for 3 thousand Russians. This means that there will undoubtedly be a demand for such tours," the expert said. - The industry needs new, perhaps previously unknown tourist products. Only in this case both new hotels, landscaped public spaces and parks will find their regular visitors: "I love this place because it constantly surprises me!".
Attracting investment
Helping regions to improve beaches, public spaces and drive infrastructure is invaluable, as regional budgets often do not have the money for this, especially if there are no strong private investors who are ready to invest, like Sergei Galitsky with his amazing projects to improve Krasnodar, said Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets. Coastal stabilization measures also help to avoid local disasters, which will affect not only tourists, but mainly local residents.
- There are two main problems. The first is the infrastructure, which began to be built only in the last few years and simply cannot cope with the influx of tourists. An example of this is Baikal, in the Irkutsk region there is an acute shortage of accommodations of all classes," the expert noted in a conversation with Izvestia. - And the second is a severe imbalance between prices and quality of service. This is partly due to the lack of experience of the owner and managers, lack of qualified personnel, and high operating costs.
View of Staraya Kuban Lake, residential complexes and Karasunskoye Lakes in Krasnodar
Prices will only increase (up to 10-20% in 2025), which means that we need to work first of all on the quality of service. And the answer here is definitely in digitalization, which will help to solve the lion's share of hotel business problems, Igor Rastorguev is sure.
- First of all, the problem is managerial. Overseeing employees, confused with rooms, with dates, not updated prices in time in travel aggregators manually - all this can be entrusted to automation. Smart CRM will automatically update prices, remind about nuances, AI will offer services based on previous preferences of guests, - he emphasized. - Secondly, the problem is personnel. The robotization of maids and concierges will speed up the work of employees, and it is possible to do with fewer staff units.
Tourists visiting a marble quarry in the Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia
Thirdly, he said, the problem is economic. If robots are used, there is an obvious benefit in terms of saving on payroll, taxes and contributions. One employee will do the work for three people in less time with a robot vacuum cleaner and a window cleaner. You can also save money on utility bills by implementing a smart home feature in your hotel. In unoccupied rooms you can set a low level of heating, turn off all electrical appliances - you can save on water, heat removal, electricity (in conditions of annual increase in tariffs is more than relevant). You can also save on keys, electronic mobile keys are already used, which are not lost.
- Yes, at first the purchase and implementation, as well as training of employees - it is not easy and resource-intensive, but the return on investment will be evident in the next hot season, - concluded the expert.
"Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Energy, but at the time of publication no response had been received.
