Experts discussed how to increase tourist flow to Russian ski resorts

The number of vacationers at Russian ski resorts in the winter season of 2024 increased by 15%, reaching 6 million people, according to Svetlana Danilina, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Ski Resorts, Territories and Services.

At the strategic session held by the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (PCT), ways to increase the tourist flow to Russian ski resorts were discussed. Danilina noted that there are 400 ski resorts in Russia, including 150 large and medium-sized ones. She stressed that the share of ski tourists in ski resorts increased by 15% by the 2023-2024 season, reaching 6 million. At the same time, only 3-4% of the population visit ski resorts, which is considered insufficient for Russia, where mountainous regions account for 40% of the territory. In comparison with these figures, Austria has 17% of skiers, and we still have a lot to grow. The desire to increase the number of trails and visitors is one of the priorities.

With the increase in the number of tourists on the existing routes, the problem of possible congestion of resorts arises. Danilina expressed concerns about overloading the infrastructure during periods of increased tourist flow, for example, during the New Year holidays.

The experts discussed factors contributing to the development of ski tourism, including subsidized leasing for the purchase of local ski equipment and favorable credit conditions for the purchase of foreign equipment, as well as the possibility of VAT exemption for passenger transportation by cable cars. Another problem hindering the development of ski tourism is restrictions on construction on forest lands, where ski resorts are usually located.

The Ministry of Economic Development announced the development of a draft law that will allow the construction and reconstruction of ski resorts on forest land. It is proposed to allow deforestation followed by their restoration, which will help to use new territories for the development of ski tourism.

The representative of the Ministry of Economic Development stressed that the government has allocated 1 billion rubles to support the development of Russian ski resorts. The financing will be used to support the program of preferential loans to investors in the field of ski tourism. Projects aimed at attracting at least 500,000 visitors per year will be able to receive funding provided that this figure is reached within two years of the launch of the facility.

The need for training and advanced training of ski instructors was also discussed. The National League of Instructors reported that 5,000 instructors and 400 coaches are actively working at ski resorts, but they stressed the importance of developing more accurate criteria for training specialists in this field, as well as popularizing and increasing the prestige of the profession.