On September 6, 2013 representatives of the delegation from four ISTO countries staying in Russia at the invitation of Russian International Academy for Tourism (RIAT) continued their visit of Moscow.

The Russian International Academy for Tourism (RIAT) did its best to make the ISTO delegation visit most effective. Business meetings at the Council of Federation and Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry were scheduled for September, 6. Everywhere the delegates were treated with great interest and support.

At the Council of Federation the delegates were received by Yuri Smirnov, the Vice-Chairman of the Council of Federation Committee for social policy. Yevgeniy Pisarevskiy, Vice-Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, Elmira Khaimurzina, Deputy Director of Tourism and Regional Policy Department of Ministry for Culture of the Russian Federation, Larisa Semenova, Head of the Department for Policy in the Sphere of Population Social Protection and Cooperation with Regional Bodies and Governmental Organizations of the Ministry for Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, Yuri Barzykin, Vice-President of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, Chairman of the Committee of the Commerce and Industry Chamber of the Russian Federation for Entrepreneurship in the Sphere of Tourism, Recreation and Hotel Activities, took part in the negotiations.

Yuri Smirnov in his opening speech dwelt upon the rising accessibility of social tourism in many aspects. He focused on the programs for specific social groups of population. There are benefits and discounts in air and railway carriage as well as special vouchers for resort medical treatment for large families with many children and low-income families. Specialized travel schemes have been developed for disabled people, children from low-income families, veterans and other socially insecure categories of the public. As an example the Russian senator informed the guests about the adopted Regulations for Subsidies to the organizations of air transportation with the aim of fostering air carriage accessibility for the passengers from the Far East to the European part of Russia and back. “Children and young people under 23 as well as senior people over 60 have the opportunity to use this benefit including the purposes of resort treatment”.

Only 5 per cent of low-income people of the country are involved in all forms of social tourism. There are regions which do not express any concern for these activities at all. Meanwhile, social tourism has such an important moral aspect as overcoming differences in the quality of life of different social strata. The World Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that any human being has the right for leisure, free time, working time reduction and paid holidays. Within this framework the leaders of national offices of the International Organization for Social Tourism continued discussing social policy in tourism.

Jean-Marc Mignon, President of the International Organization for Social Tourism, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to hold negotiations in the Council of Federation. He pointed out that it was his first visit there which he treated as a good sign that concrete steps for cooperation are being made.

Charles-Etienne Belanger from Canada, Director of the International Organization for Social Tourism, Yves Godin, General Secretary of the International Organization for Social Tourism, General Director of Floreal Group, Alain Clauwaert, Vice-President of the International Organization for Social Tourism, Chairman of the General Council of Labor Federation of Belgium, Fabrizio Pozzoli, Coordinator of Europe Department of the International Organization for Social Tourism, adviser of Federation for Culture, Tourism and Sports within the Confederation of Cooperatives of Italy, informed about transformations of tourist services for every social category. Their reports became the highlights illustrating the policy of the organization when local initiatives become part of the global strategy.

Evgeniy Trofimov, Rector of the Russian International Academy for Tourism, Doctor of Sciences (Politics), Professor and the only representative of Russia in the Directorate of the International Organization for Social Tourism, pointed out that in the Russian Federation new ideas within the development of social tourism are being taken notice of. The experience of Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic arouses interest. France sets the example with its system of holiday checks which is an overall national scheme. The European Calypso Project programs are gaining ever greater popularity in the world, showing signs of becoming transcontinental. The RIAT Rector proposed to hold the International Forum on Social Tourism Development with the involvement of the European colleagues in November. Having this aim in view he sent a letter to the Committee on Social Policy of the Council of Federation. The Russian International Academy for Tourism is ready to undertake the organizational part of the arrangements.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Yuri Smirnov stressed the economic importance of social tourism, particularly for the development of domestic tourist flows, encouragement of capital investments to the regions, creation of new jobs.

The business part of the visit was completed in Moscow Mayor’s Office where the delegation was met and hosted by Irina Rudenko, the Vice-Chairman of Moscow Tourism and Hotel Industry Committee. In her presentation she exposed almost unlimited potential of Moscow in terms of tourism development, social tourism inclusive. The guests got familiar with the range of tourist services offered in Moscow and watched a film about a series of festivals “Times and Epochs”. This project was included in the State Municipal Program “Development of Recreation and Tourism Industry in 2012-2016”. The themes of this set of festivals are dedicated to the most important and interesting periods in the history of Russia from the 10th to the 20th centuries. Every year is focused on a different epoch. In June 2013 the epoch of Middle Ages was staged on the area of “Kolomenskoye” Museum Reserve.

Foreign guests visited that historical venue afterwards. 

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