As part of UNWTO’s ongoing work to encourage strong public policies supportive of the tourism sector, a delegation from the Russian Parliament met with UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, at UNWTO Headquarters to discuss recent efforts to advance the country’s legislative framework for tourism (Madrid, Spain, 28 January 2011).
“Tourism can contribute to economic growth, jobs and development, but needs supportive public policies to do so,” said Mr. Rifai. “We need legislators to support this message and set in place a strong and favorable operating environment for the sector”.
Vladimir Zhidkikh, Chairman of the Russian Commission for Youth Affairs and Tourism, headed the delegation and detailed the work of Russian authorities regarding tourism governance. Representatives of the Russian International Academy of Tourism, recently nominated to become a UNWTO Strategic Knowledge Center, in the framework of the newly established UNWTO Knowledge Network, were also present. The Academy’s prorector, Eugeny Trofimov, highlighted the institution’s role in providing consulting assistance to the Commission and the importance of the relationship between the public sector and academia for better policy making.
The Secretary-General noted that Russia, which registered 19 million international tourist arrivals and US$ 9 billion in international tourism receipts in 2009, grew by 3% in 2010, around the European average. In terms of outbound tourism, the country is currently one of the world’s fastest growing outbound markets and is leading the recovery in terms of expenditure abroad (up 26% in 2010).
The Russian Federation has been a UNWTO Member State since 1975, actively participating in UNWTO activities and regularly organising joint events with the Organization, including a seminar to be held during the Russian international travel fair, Intourmarket (Moscow, Russia, 12-15 March 2011), in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Tourism.
UNWTO and the Government of Tajikistan have agreed to advance the country’s tourism sector through a series of concrete initiatives. UNWTO will support Tajikistan in the elaboration of a marketing strategy, the improvement of tourism statistics and the development of biodiversity-based tourism products.
The agreement to develop these initiatives follows the high priority given by the Government of Tajikistan to tourism development and takes place within the framework of Tajikistan’s Tourism Development Concept for 2019.
Tajikistan’s support of the development of the tourism sector has been reflected in recent improvements in access, namely in terms of easier visa regimes, improved overall accommodation standards and investments in the preservation of the country’s biodiversity, one of its priorities.
Tourism development in the country will be based on three axes, ecotourism, mountain tourism and cultural tourism, and will explore Tajikistan’s positioning along the Silk Road, the historic trade route linking numerous tourism destinations.
Tajikistan has been a member of UNWTO since 2007.
Relevant links: