International Tourism and Investment Forum "Smolensk region - 2013"

The cultural and entertainment center "Gubernskiy" hosted the opening ceremony of the International Tourism and Investment Forum "Smolensk region - 2013" which gathered more than 150 industry specialists and investors from many regions of Russia, Belarus and other countries.

Before the beginning of the forum the participants looked at the exhibitions dedicated to the tourism potential of the municipalities, carried out and coming projects in the field of tourism (ecological, active extreme and other types) development and preserving the cultural heritage of the region.

The travel operators of the region presented their products at the exhibition. Furthermore, the potential partners got interested in the exhibition stands dedicated to the investment platforms of the region.

According to First Deputy Governor Mikhail Pitkevich, a forum like this was held in the Smolensk region for the first time, but the authorities plan to do it regularly. "The idea is that we want the whole country to know that today the region is fully prepared and has resources and plans to carry out projects in the tourism sector, - said in his welcoming speech the First Vice-Governor. - Our goal is to attract investments. Today the government gives us a lot of mechanisms to implement our investment policy. We guarantee that we will help each potential investor that wants to come to the region".

The active work of the Administration of the Smolensk region on updating the regional program in the tourism sector and the future plans were also mentioned. "We're going to work with the federal government as closely as possible, and each investment project will be carried out by joint efforts of the Culture and Tourism Department, Economic Development Department and other relevant authorities", - concluded Mikhail Pitkevich.

President of the regional Chamber of Commerce Vladimir Arkhipenkov and the representative of Smolensk and Vyazma diocese priest Vladislav (Bagan) also greeted the participants of the forum. The speakers stressed that at present the unique cultural and historical heritage of the Smolensk region, its tourism potential were not used efficiently enough and expressed hope for solving the existing problems in the industry by joint efforts.

After the opening ceremony all the guests were invited to take part in the plenary session.

The further work will be organized in the format of panel discussions: "Smolensk region - from events to events tourism", "Tourism development and investments into the Smolensk region". The issues of creating inter-regional tour routes and cross-border cooperation, using the sites of Smolensk region cultural heritage in a public-private partnership will be discussed during the sessions and bilateral meetings. Special attention will be paid to the issues of conservation and efficient use of the Smolensk fortress wall towers and the estates located in the region. There will also be an interactive presentation of the tourism potential of the region's municipalities.

A visit to the sites of the historical and cultural heritage of Smolensk and its surroundings on February, 9 will bring the forum to the end: the guests can enjoy a bus and walking sightseeing tour of the city, visiting the Smolensk art gallery and museum complex in Talashkino.