Andrey Ershov
With the development of domestic and inbound tourism in the eastern part of Russia, it is important to strike a balance between the growth of the tourist flow and the preservation of the unique pristine nature of these regions, taking into account the peculiar features of each tourism area, according to the Tourism.RF Corporation (Туризм.РФ).
Tourism.RF participates in the implementation of several ecotourism projects in Siberia and the Far East, the Corporation told EcoTourism EXPERT. A tourist cluster near the village of Taltsy located on the steep bank of the magnificent Angara River that is aimed at the preservation of the ever-green Baikal forests and the construction of recreational areas is among them. The eco-trails laid out in the tourism area will be connected to the system of Pribaikalsky National Park’s tourist routes. Also, the largest Siberia’s marina (yacht port with full-fledged infrastructure), as well as a spacious beach promenade, aqua park, petting zoo, and the infrastructure for family recreation will be built at the new all-the-year-round resort. All facilities designed will be built into the natural landscape of the area to minimize the impact on the environment. The development of a master plan for the flagship tourism project in Siberia will be completed this autumn. The project being implemented with the participation of the Tourism.RF Corporation involves the construction of hotel complexes on a phased basis on the banks of the Angara River offering 3.5 thousand rooms. Comprehensive engineering and road infrastructure is planned to be built using state support programmes.
The implementation of the integrated all-season tourism project “Green Flow Baikal” in the Republic of Buryatia as part of the “Tourism and Hospitality Industry” national project is another example when all the requirements of an environmental regional legislation are taken into account during the construction. A 153-room four-star hotel will be built on an area of 1.7 hectares and a health infrastructure will be created. This is the first project being implemented jointly with Tourism.RF in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural area. The construction of the new hotel is carried out taking into account all legislative norms and requirements to preserve the unique nature of Lake Baikal. The mechanisms used today at the state level stimulate the development of high-quality tourism services and infrastructure, and all the tourists, local residents, environment and nature of Lake Baikal can benefit from this.
Buryatia is not the only region in the Far East where tourism facilities are under construction in unique tourism areas. A new resort “Three Volcanoes” is being built in Kamchatka that unites the tourist attractions of the peninsula and the developing of the balneological, skiing, mountain and cruise tourism. The investment project involves the construction of a tourism cluster with over 1,000 rooms in the area of the Vilyuchinsky, Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanoes, with an access to the Vilyuchinsky Bay.
With the construction of the tourism area “Mountain Air”, another project in the Far East, various resource-efficient technologies will be used in the Sakhalin Region. Thanks to the preliminary engineering surveys and environmental studies carried out, the introduction of energy and water efficient technologies, the environmental impact on the tourist area will be significantly reduced. The project provides for the use of recycling of “grеy virtual water” and “green virtual water” (mainly rainwater), and water-efficient equipment will be used for swimming pools. The green environment damaged during the 2015 typhoon will be restored in the area. For watering the replanted gardens, natural flower beds and green spaces, the drip watering system will be used combined with a rainwater collecting and reusing system to reduce the consumption of drinking-quality water.
The total area of the resort located near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk will be over 100 hectares. Three- and four-star hotels with about 2,000 rooms will be built here. The “Gorny Vozdukh” resort will be an all-season one and will feature an up-to-date infrastructure of a winter ski resort with new opportunities for active recreation in summer. The opening of the new resort is expected to double the tourist flow to Sakhalin to over 600,000 people by 2030. In September 2023, the development of a master plan for the tourism area should be completed and the practical implementation of the project will start.
Photos courtesy of Tourism.RF Corporation
