The Pechenga District of the Murmansk Region, Russia, will attract specialists and students from the Murmansk Arctic State University (MASU) in the field of hospitality and urban transformation for tourism development.
This follows from the agreement concluded between MASU and ANO Center for Social Projects of the Pechenga Region "Second School" (established by the administration of the Pechenga region and JSC "Kola MMC»). According to the document, the institutions will work on the development of the tourism industry in the region where the industrial village of Nikel is located, says Interfax-Tourism.
Within the framework of the Nickel-Tourism-2025 project, from February 2021 to January 2022, the university will involve its employees and students with the aim of developing the hospitality industry to transform the industrial region into a popular tourist destination.
The agency quotes the head of the MASU project office, Anna Popova, who spoke about the stages of transformation of the region. According to her, within the framework of the joint project, at the first stage, specialists will conduct sociological research and surveys of local residents, as well as the study of the experience of other territories that have become tourist centers.
Previously it was reported that until 2020, the smelting factory of Kola MMC (Kola MMC, a subsidiary of MMC Norilsk Nickel), which was located in the village of Nikel, ceased operations after 74 years of operation. The enterprise was a source of environmental pollution in the Murmansk region. The closure of the smelter will benefit the ecology, the environment and the health of local residents.
After the closure of the workshop, Nornickel intends to invest about 140 billion rubles in projects in the Murmansk region. The allocated funds will cover the costs associated with the closure of the outdated smelter in Nikel, as well as investments in the development of tourism infrastructure.
In addition, Norilsk Nickel will create a new world-class tourist cluster - Port Liinakhamari - in the Murmansk region. The project cost stands at 12.5 billion rubles.
The project reportedly involves the development of natural, ecological tourism. The necessary world-class infrastructure will be created on the territory of the TC for the entry of cruise ships, yachts, the development of diving, and sea fishing.
The project, supported by Governor Andrey Chibis, has the status of a resident of the Arctic zone.
The work on the creation of a tourist cluster in Liinakhamari is expected to begin in 2021.
