- According to Transaero President Aleksandr Pleshakov at the Tourism Business conference, the tourism industry in Russia is expecting a growth of 10%-12% this year.
- The recent decrease in the cost of air travel would provide more opportunities for even more growth in the tourism market.
- Russia has been experiencing an increase in visitor arrivals especially from countries like Greece, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Great Britain, France which visit Russia either for tourism or for business purposes.
Russia has a large number of historical landmarks which make it a very important cultural destination. With cultural tourism taking place in Russia, this has helped in the preservation and conservation of these cultural sites,as measures have been put in place to protect these sites from the environmental impact of wear and tear.
Tourism has also brought a change in the infrastructure in Russia. Russia will be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the country's infrastructure would have to be improved and upgraded in order for Russia to be able to host the large number of people coming in to participate in the games. Airports, railways and port facilities would be upgraded in order to support the tourism industry and locals will also benefit from the change in the country's infrastructure. Tourism has brought about events such as the Winter Olympics and this helps to promote Russia's tourism industry internationally and domestically.
Tourism has also brought about development in Russia's airline and hotel industry. In 2007, Russia's first budget airline, Sky Express started its operations in the low-cost sector. In the hotel industry, the Russian Company, Renova Stroy Group may build 50 three-star hotels in Russia over the next ten years. These developments in Russia's airline and hotel industry would mean that more locals would be able to secure jobs in the future and this, decreasing its unemployment rate.
Though tourism has brought about many positive changes to Russia economically and environmentally, it has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions in Russia. Using the Russkaya derevnya ("Russian Village") Hotel as an example, we can see how commodification of Russia's culture has led to a simplification of culture. As the replica of the Russian Village is not really authentic and was built with the needs and wants of the tourists in mind, this may leave foreigners with a different perspective of Russian culture than what it originally was due to inaccurate representation of its culture. However, commodification of culture can also have its positive impacts. By catering to the needs and wants of tourists, this would increase the number of people wanting to stay in the hotel and thus leading to an increase in revenue earned. The hotel may also raise awareness about Russia's culture to the foreigners who stay in the hotel and thus, motivate them to find out more about its culture and then lead to a better understanding of Russia's culture.
In conclusion, it is true that tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions, however this can lead to both positive and negative impacts and it may be more beneficial economically.
The blog was really very nice to see and looks great to see.
ReplyDeleteDubai Hotel Rates