On December 13, in St. Petersburg, within the framework of the V International Tourism Forum TRAVEL HUB. Travel!, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Lyubov Sovershaeva held a meeting of the Working Group on the development of the interregional historical, cultural and tourist project “Silver Necklace of Russia”. The meeting was attended by the Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia Maya Lomidze, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad Region Dmitry Yalov, Head of the Non-Profit Partnership of the National Association of Information and Tourism Organizations Mikhail Ushakov, representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Russia, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the museum community, tourist information centers, heads of travel industry companies.
The working group summed up the interim results of the execution of Protocol decisions following the meeting of the Council under the Plenipotentiary Representative, which considered issues of tourism development in the regions of the North-West of Russia and identified key areas of activity for the coming year.
Attention is focused on the implementation of protocol decisions on the implementation of the municipal tourist standard in the regions of Northwestern Russia, the development of training programs for tour guides to work within the framework of the project, updating the national calendar of events for the current and future years, as well as the participation of regional and municipal museums in the project “Museum Information Center of the Silver Necklace” and further integration of the museum community to the project.
Separately, the participants of the Working Group focused on the participation of regions in the exhibition-forum “Russia” at VDNH, where the regions of the North-West of Russia are united by the quest game “Silver Necklace of Russia”. With the help of the quest, visitors to the exhibition visit the stands of all regions of the North-West, and only in the first month of operation, 6.5 thousand people have already participated in the game and got acquainted with the achievements and tourist potential of the subjects of the Northwestern Federal District.
“The scale, uniqueness, grandeur of the achievements presented at the exhibition makes every visitor feel proud of our country. And the Silver Necklace of Russia project itself, which connected the entire North-West with a single brand, is among Russia’s achievements on the Russia is a Country of Achievements platform,” Lyubov Sovershaeva noted. She recalled that the annual Ladoga Youth Educational Forum this year was devoted to the topic of domestic tourism and the development of the Silver Necklace project. Following the results of the forum, projects have been prepared that affect a wide variety of topics: historical and cultural heritage, the environmental sphere, water sports and agro-routes, maintaining family traditional values and others.
She appealed to the heads of the Leningrad Region authorities in charge of youth policy and tourism to give the projects a professional expert assessment, and assured that the best of the projects would be supported in their regions.
“The Silver Necklace of Russia project is 11 years old, of course, during this time technologies have changed, a lot of new things have appeared in the visualization capabilities, and most importantly, the project itself has changed – from routes connecting historical centers and attractions, the Silver Necklace has become the unifying foundation, the brand of the entire Northwestern Federal District. It is quite obvious that the time has come to change the approach to the visualization of the project, too,” said the Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative. At one of the sites of the Ladoga Forum, the Northwest Regional Management Center, together with the youth audience, developed a proposal for the rebranding of the Silver Necklace of Russia project.
A new concept of project visualization was presented to the participants of the Working Group meeting. It is planned that by the beginning of March 2024, the concept will be finalized taking into account comments and suggestions received from the regions.
The participants of the Working Group also discussed the regulations for choosing the capital of the “Silver Necklace of Russia” and the organization of media promotion.
The idea of giving small territories of the regions of the North-West the transitional status of the capital of the “Silver Necklace of Russia” has proved to be one of the most striking and interesting initiatives born of the Silver Necklace of Russia project. Remote, very small settlements, but with a unique identity and interesting history, have great tourist potential and development opportunities. The status of the capital of the “Silver Necklace” contributes to attracting the attention of authorities to such territories.
The first capital of the “Silver Necklace” was the village of Staraya Ladoga in the Leningrad region. In 2022, the Old Believer village of Ust-Tsilma of the Komi Republic became the capital of the Silver Necklace, and this year the ancient town of Solvychegodsk in the Arkhangelsk region. It is planned that the regulations, taking into account all comments, will be approved by the end of this year.
Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, summing up, stressed that the Silver Necklace of Russia project is an unprecedented example of interregional cooperation that should be shared with the whole country.
A source: szfo.gov.ru
