The hospitality industry of the region: towards development
As part of the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of Smolensk, the regional center hosted the scientific and practical conference "Hospitality Industry at the western borders of Russia". The forum is being held by the Culture and Tourism Department of Smolensk region in cooperation with the Russian Hotel Association and among the participants there are tourist industry professionals from Smolensk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ulyanovsk, Rzhev and Surgut.
For two days leading hoteliers, managers of travel agencies, university academics from different regions of the country are going to discuss the most important topics in the hospitality industry. At the plenary session it was noted that such meetings had proved to be important platforms for exchanging experience between novice and experienced players. Joint efforts of the representatives of this sector can promote the development of the industry in the region.
Today, there are 77 group accommodation facilities in Smolensk region, 55 of them are a hotel-type accommodation facilities and 22 - specially designed facilities, mainly for the treatment of patients with diseases of the digestive, circulatory, respiratory and nervous system. In order to attract investors to develop the tourism industry, investment projects on hotels construction have been developed and implemented. The hotel fund has been improved not only in Smolensk, but also in the municipalities, which are also the centers of tourism, leisure and pilgrimage.
The head of the Culture and Tourism Department of Smolensk region Vladislav Kononov spoke about the current state and development prospects of the hospitality industry in Smolensk region.
According to him, in 2009 the first map showing tourist sites, museums, and cultural institutions was set up in the park Blonie. Early in 2013 it was decided to create a tourist navigation system in compliance with general standards of installing tourist information signs and indicators that provide information in two languages about the sites, directions and street names. The project involves installation of 20 news steles and 40 pointers. The first information steles with the information about the nearby attractions and the map for tourists have been already set up nearby Lenin square.
On August, 29 a tourist information center "Smolensk terem" where residents and visitors can get free booklets, calendars of event tourisms and tourist map "Mobile guide of the city of Smolensk", get all the necessary information about the attractions of Smolensk and the region, book a specific tour, opened in the city center in the park "Lopatinsky Sad". All these actions are aimed at creating favorable conditions for the tourists visiting the city.
After the business part of the forum the travel industry professionals were invited on the tour of the city "Smolensk on the eve of the 1150th anniversary". The results of the conference, which is held within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Administration of Smolensk region and the Russian Hotel Association, will be announced on the 13th of September.