B More than 5,000 forum guests participated in events aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of the resort season. The forum was organized by the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea with the support of the Federal Tourism Agency. At the opening ceremony The forum was attended by Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Valery Ryazansky, Head of Rostourism Oleg Safonov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean Government and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea to the President of the Russian Federation Georgy Muradov, Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea Vadim Volchenko, and Chairman of the State Council Committee on Health Resorts and Tourism Alexey Chernyak.
The forum, which provides a platform for constructive dialogue between government and business and attracts new tourism industry experts to address the most pressing issues related to the development of the Crimean Peninsula as a tourist destination, brought together over 5,000 professional visitors, representatives of the tourism industry, and related industries from Crimea and other regions of the Russian Federation.
Valery Ryazansky expressed confidence that the draft laws being developed by the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy will help attract more visitors to Crimea seeking year-round recreation and wellness, particularly families with children and the elderly.
According to Oleg Safonov, this year Crimea is challenging with two major events: the opening of the new terminal at Simferopol International Airport and the Crimean Bridge. Since 2014, Crimea has been laying and will continue to lay the "engineering foundation" for infrastructure development, increasing its investment attractiveness.
Opening the forum, Crimean Minister of Resorts and Tourism Vadim Volchenko announced that Crimea is ready for the resort season in partnership with active tourism industry representatives and hopes for continued federal support for legislative initiatives and new projects by local authorities.
"We organized such a large-scale tourism forum for the first time in the capital of Crimea, at the new international exhibition center, and this is a small, but revolutionary event for the tourism industry. Crimea's resort and tourism potential is extensively showcased at the tourism exhibition, and on the sidelines of the forum, we discussed the most pressing issues in preparing for the resort season: mechanisms for reducing airfare to Crimea, pricing criteria for hotel services, and outlined measures of state and financial support for the tourism industry," said Vadim Volchenko.
In his speech, the head of Rostourism noted the importance of legalizing the Crimean hotel market to protect the rights and legitimate interests of both consumers and owners of collective accommodation facilities, the need to achieve an optimal balance of price and quality for Crimean tourism products, and the need to prepare for and accommodate the additional tourist flow expected with the opening of vehicle traffic across the Kerch Strait.
At the forum, experts discussed the affordability of air travel for tourists visiting Crimea. According to Vadim Volchenko, a combination of factors could contribute to lower airfares.
"The expansion of tour operators' charter flight programs, subsidies for their operations, especially in the off-season, and the introduction of seasonal price caps on air travel—these factors could reduce airfare. Currently, demand for Crimea exceeds airline supply, which is why ticket prices are rising during the season," says Vadim Volchenko.
Oleg Safonov also comments on the situation. According to him, together with the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency, significant steps have been taken to develop transport links in Crimea. An airport complex will open this year, and new aircraft parking areas are being created. The situation will change significantly after the opening of the Crimean Bridge. This will lead to healthy competition between different modes of transport.
Vadim Volchenko expressed confidence that the forum's events were beneficial for the Crimean tourism industry in preparation for the 2018 resort season.
Thematic sections presented projects dedicated to the development of congress tourism in Crimea, the development and promotion of new tourist routes and excursion programs to attract more tourists to the peninsula year-round. Particular attention was paid to Crimea's event calendar and the promotion of wine and gastronomic tourism, integrating it into the Gastronomic Map of Russia. As a reminder, from February 19 to 23, the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea organized two infotours for tourism industry players and trade union employees from 10 regions of the Russian Federation as part of "Crimean Tourism Week."
At the plenary session "Mechanisms for State and Financial Support for Tourism Industry Entities," representatives of the Federal Tourism Agency recalled that the concept of the new federal target program (FTP) for the development of domestic and inbound tourism for 2019-2025 currently provides for a reduction in the annual interest rate on business loans to 5%. It is expected that companies will be able to obtain loans at this rate for infrastructure construction, the purchase of tourist buses, cruise ships, and the furnishing of new hotels. Rostourism is seeking proposals and applications from each region in the development of the new Federal Target Program for Tourism for 2019-2025.
Crimean Minister of Economic Development Natalia Chaban, Crimean Minister of Finance Irina Kiviko, banking representatives, and representatives of regional industry agencies also informed entrepreneurs about important tools for supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
According to Natalia Chaban, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Karelia is developing a tourism cluster strategy for the region. The minister noted that the strategy will, in particular, take into account the experience of the Krasnodar Krai, which receives 12 million tourists annually. As part of the cluster development strategy, program participants may qualify for additional government support measures in addition to existing ones, such as reduced interest rates on loans.
Irina Kiviko spoke about measures to develop small and medium-sized businesses in the Republic of Crimea. The minister reported that 244.2 million rubles were allocated to support SMEs in 2017, an increase of 23.1 million rubles, or 101%, more than in 2016. 64.7 million rubles were allocated for financial support from the Republic of Crimea's budget through the loan reduction mechanism in 2017, and 78.1 million rubles are allocated for 2018.
At the conclusion of the forum, an awards ceremony for the winners of the republican "Recognition of the Year" campaign was held jointly with the State Council Committee of the Republic of Crimea on Health Resorts and Tourism. The best representatives of the tourism industry were selected in 16 categories and awarded both recognition for their achievements and valuable gifts.
Source: trn-news.ru