The first pilot tour for Japanese travelers to the Kuril Islands will take place in October 2019. This was announced by Zarina Doguzova, head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, during a meeting between representatives of Russian and Japanese tourism authorities and tour operator executives.
According to the department, during the event, participants discussed tour programs, logistics, and other organizational issues, and agreed to hold a pilot tour in October of this year.
"Japan is a target market for us in terms of developing inbound tourism. Therefore, we are in ongoing dialogue with the Japan Tourism Agency on mutually increasing tourist flows, which received new impetus following the talks in Tokyo this May. We believe that the successful progress in coordinating the first pilot tour to the Southern Kuril Islands in October 2019 and plans to launch regular tours is further evidence of mutual economic interest in tourism, which, in particular, contributes to achieving the previously stated shared goals of increasing the number of mutual trips to 200,000 annually by 2023," said Zarina Doguzova, Head of Rostourism.
The agency also emphasized that the Kuril Islands have significant tourism potential: the southern islands are home to the active volcanoes Golovnin (Kunashir Island) and Baransky (Iturup Island), the White and Black Rocks, the Kipyashchee and Goryachee lakes, and the Stolbovskaya ecological trail. Rostourism will support Russian tour operators in developing inbound and domestic tourism flows, including as part of a general program to support domestic businesses in the industry.
Source: trn-news.ru