Dmitry Chernyshenko opens the 6th ‘Let’s Travel!’ International Tourism Forum at VDNH

Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko opened the 6th ‘Let’s Travel!’ International Tourism Forum and toured its exhibition exposition. This key industry event is taking place from 10 to 14 June at VDNH in Moscow. The 6th ‘Let’s Travel!’ International Tourism Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation jointly with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Forum’s opening ceremony began with a ceremonial parade of exhibition participants, comprising regions of Russia, foreign countries, and participating companies. Alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Vakhrukov and Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation Vladimir Zatynayko took part in the opening.

Dmitry Chernyshenko conveyed President Vladimir Putin’s message of greetings to the Forum’s guests, participants and organizers, in which the head of state noted that the Forum represents a further excellent opportunity to reveal and showcase the vast potential of Russia’s regions in this sphere.

“It is important to make travel across Russia accessible, comfortable, and memorable. To achieve this, it is necessary to further improve tourism infrastructure, to competently and efficiently organise routes, and to make them engaging and user-friendly. Such work requires, in particular, the coordination of efforts between the state, the business community, and regional authorities to make tourism a profitable sector of the economy generating additional revenue, helping create jobs, and contributing to the preservation of museums, architectural monuments, national parks, and nature reserves,” said Vladimir Putin.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Roscongress Foundation, the Moscow Mayor’s Office and personally to Sergei Sobyanin, the heads of the regions, and the participants of the Forum’s opening parade.

“The participants of the 6th ‘Let’s Travel!’ International Forum, the regions and companies, have presented their finest tourist products. And we have a unique chance to choose the journey of our dreams. What a vast country we have, and how many foreign guests have come to us!” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Dmitry Vakhrukov congratulated all present on the opening of the Forum and wished participants strong results, fruitful work and new achievements. “We have never had a Forum of this scale before. Of course, there is more to come. My heartfelt thanks to all who responded to our invitations, and to our friends from foreign states: today you have accomplished something unprecedented. By coming to Russia, you know with certainty that there is opportunity here: Russian tourism and Russian tourists are people worth engaging with. Ahead of us are several days of demanding but very interesting work. So, let us get to work!” said Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

“The Forum was created as a platform that brings together the entire tourism ecosystem. This format makes it possible to see the full journey of a tourist product, from the idea and the creation of infrastructure to the promotion of a destination and an individual choice of route. That is the Forum’s principal value: it helps different participants in the tourism sector find one another, launch new projects and develop tourism in Russia together,” said Vladimir Zatynayko, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation, Director of the ‘Let’s Travel!’ International Tourism Forum.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Viktoria Abramchenko, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Vakhrukov, Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee Evgeny Kozlov, and Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation Vladimir Zatynayko also took part in the official tour.

In the Travel Russia thematic zone, participants explored the expositions of the Primorsky Territory and Kirov, Smolensk and Sverdlovsk regions, with particular attention paid to the development of domestic tourism, inter-regional cooperation, and the promotion of new tourist destinations. The joint exposition of the Golden Ring national tourist route brought together several regions, including Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, and Tver regions. Addresses at the regional stands were delivered by Governor of the Primorsky Territory Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of Kirov Region Alexander Sokolov, Governor of Yaroslavl Region Mikhail Evraev, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleb Nikitin, and Governor of Tver Region Vitaly Korolev.

In the international section of the Relax! zone, tour participants were presented with the tourist offerings of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Abkhazia, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Nicaragua, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the other participants also explored the expositions of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Kavkaz.RF, the Rosatom State Corporation, Russian manufacturers of tourist infrastructure, as well as the National Priorities stand. The stand covers automotive tourism in Russia: the national tourism portal Puteshestvuem.rf, which operates as part of the Tourism and Hospitality national project, currently features over 130 driving routes covering 67 regions of the country and encompassing thousands of attractions, hotels, and road infrastructure facilities.