Investing with care for nature: development of tourism in specially protected natural areas

The development of tourism in specially protected natural areas was discussed by experts at the visiting session of the International Forum “Eco Altai. Thread of Nature”, which took place in Moscow as part of the Russian Tourism Forum “Travel!”.

How to find a compromise between travel and nature conservation, whether legislative changes will give an incentive to the qualitative development of ecotourism, whether the investment attractiveness of nature reserves and national parks will change - these and other most pressing issues were raised by experts during the session “Investments with care for nature: development of tourism in specially protected natural areas".

Tourism is one of the industries with the largest multiplier effects for the economy. Ecotourism offers a unique solution that ensures the sustainable development of territories, jobs and the preservation of natural resources. The potential of ecotourism in Russia is huge, and its most promising direction is ecotourism in specially protected natural areas (SPNA).

According to Lyudmila Poplavskaya, Deputy Director of the Roszapovedcenter of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Head of the Project Office of the federal project "Biodiversity Preservation and Development of Ecotourism" of the national project "Ecology", 14 million people visited federal protected areas in 2022, which is 32% more compared to 2021. “And now is the most favorable period to reorient part of the tourists from outbound destinations to domestic ones, thus stimulating overall economic growth. However, we should not forget that objects in protected areas are built not only for the comfort of tourists, but also to preserve the natural complexes that this specially protected natural area protects,” the speaker emphasized.

The Republic of Altai is officially the eco-capital of Russia. The region is of increasing interest among tourists in the field of ecotourism, as evidenced by the steady growth in tourist flow. “The Republic has one of the most developed networks of specially protected natural areas in Russia: their total area is 25% of the territory of the region - this is not found anywhere else in the world, and a number of the territories are included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List,” the Minister of Tourism of the Republic explained Altai Erchim Sarbashev. The development of tourism for the Republic is one of the main points of growth. At the same time, the region is one of the key centers of biological and landscape diversity in the Russian Federation. Setting ambitious goals for the development of tourism, the Republic observes the principle: ecological tourism must ensure the preservation of the territory.

Among the main tasks for the development of tourism in specially protected natural areas, experts see the creation of tourism infrastructure, ensuring transport accessibility of territories, expanding the range of tourism services, improving their quality, popularizing the destination among the population. One of the problems today is the training of personnel in the field of nature tourism, explained the vice-rector for the development of master's and postgraduate programs of the Russian International Academy of Tourism, Tatyana Rassokhina. According to her, now it is necessary to form key requirements for personnel in the field of ecotourism and control the mandatory inclusion of these approaches in educational standards.

The theme of ecological tourism will be included in the business program of the International Forum “Eco Altai. The Thread of Nature”, which on September 29–30 will bring together all those interested in the environmental agenda to develop innovative projects, environmental development strategies and scale up effective practices. The partner of the event will be the Russian Tourism Forum "Travel!".