International cooperation between mountain resorts was discussed at the forum of tourist territories in Sochi. Representatives of the tourist complexes “Rosa Khutor” (Russia), “Shymbulak” (Kazakhstan), “Amirsoy” (Uzbekistan) and the tourist center “Shahdag” (Azerbaijan) took part in the round table on this topic.
- Mountain territories occupy 10 percent of the area of Kazakhstan, 21 percent of Uzbekistan, 53 percent of the Russian Federation, 65 percent of Azerbaijan. All this creates the prerequisites for the development of mountain tourism, while international cooperation is the key to success,” said Sergei Khvorostyany, Deputy General Director for International Relations and Tourism at the Rosa Khutor resort.
In June 2023, the mountain resorts Rosa Khutor (Russia), Shymbulak (Kazakhstan) and Amirsoy (Uzbekistan) began working together to create the Eurasian Alliance of Mountain Resorts (EAMC), which will provide a platform for the strategic development of tourism in Eurasia , professional communication, promotion of best practices and brands of mountain resorts. Among the main goals of the alliance are the promotion of all-season mountain tourism and the popularization of an active lifestyle, the exchange of necessary information and best practices, improving the professional qualifications of mountain workers, and developing common approaches to safety standards.
- Our complexes are located on the territory of national parks. The development of uniform standards will ensure the safe development of tourism both for our guests and for the surrounding nature,” said Rinat Abdrakhmanov, general director of the Shymbulak mountain resort.
Commercial director of the Uzbek resort “Amirsoy” Davronbek Niyazov noted that the activities of the alliance ensure a uniform level of service and loyalty programs, which allows not only to attract, but to “retain” guests at the association’s resorts, thereby increasing the tourist flow. An important stage in the activities of the EAGC will be the creation of an interstate tourist route. Considering that the alliance adheres to the principles of openness, the Azerbaijani resort of Shahdag plans to become its next member.
- Shahdag resort is the first mountain resort in Azerbaijan. It was created in 2012. Before this, there was no skating culture in the country. Today, the resort has 30 kilometers of trails and 1,200 accommodations in hotels of various levels. In 2023, the tourist flow to the resort amounted to 200 thousand guests. Shahdag expressed a desire to become a member of the Eurasian Alliance of Mountain Resorts, said Rustam Najafov, chairman of the Shahdag tourist center.
As part of the EAGC, it is planned to hold international festivals of mountain resorts in Eurasia. The first will take place at the Rosa Khutor mountain resort in March 2024.
- The festival program will combine three components. The business part will include a discussion of issues of lawmaking and the formation of uniform safety standards for the mountain tourism industry. The professional part is aimed at communication and exchange of experience among industry specialists, including avalanche, rescue, and technical services of mountain resorts. The entertainment component is intended for guests and visitors to the complexes, who will be able to take, among other things, free skiing and snowboarding master classes from the best instructors,” explained Andrey Kukushkin, secretary of the Eurasian Alliance of Mountain Resorts.
To resolve issues of personnel training within the alliance, it is planned to create a corporate university, EAGC. The strategic tool is aimed at achieving the organization's mission through the development of human capital.
- The main activities of the corporate university of the Eurasian Alliance of Mountain Resorts are the formation of professional standards and requirements for services and personnel, personnel assessment and process audit, exchange of best practices, implementation of educational programs of various formats and purposes, up to the training of line personnel. The university will also conduct scientific research, which includes collecting statistical data in the mountain tourism industry,” shared Alexey Svishchev, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations of the IBDA RANEPA.
It is expected that the strategic partners of the corporate university of the alliance will be the leading universities of the world, including RANEPA, Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Nazarbaev University, Baku State University, consulting, service and industrial companies. According to Alexey Svishchev, educational courses at the EAGC corporate university can be launched before the end of 2023. One of the first will be a program for marketing and developing customer centricity in mountain resorts.
The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has announced that nine ski resorts in Russia will receive 31.8 billion rubles in support as part of the "Tourism and Hospitality Industry" national project. These funds can be invested in infrastructure development
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