The meeting was attended by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Denis Khramov, heads of the regions of the Russian Federation and their deputies responsible for environmental policy, as well as representatives of federal executive bodies, research and expert organisations.
Igor Levitin stressed the relevance of the meeting’s agenda in view of the restrictions on outbound and the growth of internal tourism, including ecotourism, and of drafting a national project in this sphere.
Denis Khramov reported on the efforts of the Ministry of Natural Resources to boost ecotourism, including drafting a bill to set out a unified approach to legal regulation of ecotourism in specially protected nature areas.
In his speech, Gleb Nikitin voiced proposals on the development of ecotourism drafted by the working group together with the expert community.
Deputy CEO of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Olga Zakharova presented the Agency’s proposals on the strategy for the development of ecotourism based on the analysis of world practices of using nature areas.
The participants in the meeting discussed the current state and prospects for the development of ecotourism in Russia, interaction between the tourism industry and state bodies that manage specially protected nature areas, investors’ access to information on land plots designated for recreational activities in those areas, and issues of financial and legal support for investment projects in ecotourism.
Recommendations worked out at the meeting will be taken into account by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal Agency for Tourism in their work on drafting legislation on the development of ecotourism in Russia.