“Any individual who has visited Kamchatka at least once says that this is a unique region, and dreams of visiting it again. Nevertheless, today Kamchatka only occupies eighth place among the regions of the Far East in terms of the number of tourists annually arriving. The reason is not only the remoteness of the peninsula, but also the low development of infrastructure. We’ve begun to change the situation. To date, 55 investment agreements in the field of tourism have been concluded in the Kamchatka Region, which provide for the construction of hotels, hotel complexes, and the development of cruise projects,” the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District said opening the meeting.

The support of entrepreneurs to successfully implement tourism investment projects was considered. In particular, projects were presented to create a year-round eco-park called “Snow Valley,” a center for the reproduction and conservation of rare species of birds of prey, the “Falcon Center Kamchatka,” a hotel and entertainment complex, “Honka Kamchatka,” and others.

“This year, the efforts of investors who have already invested will be seen. The falconry center has started operating, and soon tourists will be able to visit and see amazing birds - white gyrfalcons. Our priority is to make tourism accessible to all categories of our citizens,” explained Kamchatka Region Governor Vladimir Solodov.

“Investors should implement their projects in accordance with their own capabilities and financial plans. But as far as state support is concerned, it should be carried out as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

Yury Trutnev instructed the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and the Federal Tourism Agency (Rostourism) to prepare financial support proposals for tourism investment projects to provide reduced interest rates on loans.

The agenda of the meeting included the development of industrial tourism. The possibility of visiting industrial facilities and enterprises, in particular, a food processing plant, an enterprise for the manufacture of bottled mineral water, a workshop to produce miniatures from stained glass and other industries, was considered. After listening to the suggestions put forth, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, together with industrial enterprises of the Kamchatka Region, to submit proposals for the development of industrial tourism in the region.

The development of cruise tourism was discussed. Yury Trutnev instructed the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic to prepare proposals to amend legislation in order to accelerate the development of this area together with cruise ship operators. The Russian Ministry of Transport, along with Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) and the government of the Kamchatka Region, was instructed to work out the issue of creating port infrastructure to receive and service cruise ships in the region.

Charter flights to Kamchatka are being launched for the first time. They will become available starting in June of this year because of the participation of federal and Kamchatka air operators in the project. Flights will not only be from Moscow, but also from key points in the Far East - Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. Rostourism was instructed to amend a resolution by the government of Russia on subsidizing charter flights in terms of cost reimbursements after each flight.

Summarizing the results of the meeting, Yury Trutnev noted that it is important to deal with tourism in general, to provide tourists with a comfortable stay in the region. “We need to develop tourism more actively. Travel to Kamchatka should become more accessible. This means less expensive air travel, the creation of a new airport, which we are currently building and which will be able to claim the title of the best in the country. People should be able to have comfortable accommodation. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky should be well-equipped with amenities. All this in combination creates the attractiveness of the region,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.