In Smolensk there was a meeting of the Coordinating Council for the development of domestic and international tourism in the Russian Federation

At the Administration of the Smolensk region the Vice-Prime Minister Olga Golodets chaired the first meeting of the Coordinating Council for the development of domestic and international tourism in the Russian Federation. The meeting discussed the readiness of the region for the upcoming summer tourist season of 2016.

The head of the region Aleksey Ostrovskiy spoke about the problems and prospects of the tourism development in the Smolensk region. Every year the Smolensk region is visited by over 300 thousand tourists. Today in the region there are more than 4 thousand historical and cultural monuments. First of all they are estate complexes, outstanding monuments of architecture and monumental art, and archaeological heritage sites. Today many of them are in a terrible state, and one of the main problems is the need for a full-scale restoration of over 80% of the monuments.

According to Alexey Ostrovskiy, the tourism industry will not be successful unless the federal center begins to invest substantial funds into the cultural heritage sites, which are the main tourist attractions.

During the meeting, the Vice Prime Minister noted that in the context of increasing demand for the domestic tours, the government intends to involve the regions in providing the recreation services. For example, Mineralnye Vody and the Smolensk region have all the necessary potential for it.