The tourist flow in Kamchatka is growing every year. However, experts in the tourism industry note that the region should expand its accessibility for tourists, including from the point of view of visiting local attractions. This also applies to Mutnovsky Volcano, an iconic site that has been closed to the public for more than a year. Market experts are convinced that the authorities should organize work to ensure the safety of Mutnovsky and resume excursions to the volcano.
“People go to Kamchatka with hopes, but come back with resentment: they haven’t seen much”
Last year, Kamchatka was visited by more than 400 thousand people, which is almost 40 thousand more tourists than in 2023. It is worth noting that Russia has high hopes — and responsibilities — for the development of tourism in the regions, as it helps to develop the local economy.
“5 years ago, the authorities of the Kamchatka Territory presented a roadmap for the development of tourism on the peninsula. This was supposed to not only enhance the region’s image, but also strengthen its economic opportunities,” says economist Andrey Volobuev. Then, in 2020, it was expected that by 2025 the average check and the length of stay of tourists would increase, logistics would improve, and the seasonality of tourism in the region would be blurred, so that visitors from other cities would be interested at any time of the year. It was also planned to improve the quality of tourist services and additional services. What is the situation today?
The fact that the tourist flow to Kamchatka is growing is positive news both for the region and for tour operators. At the same time, the accessibility of the Kamchatka Territory is still low in general. This region is not quite ready for proper interaction with tourists yet, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies Association (ATA), General Director of the Pink Elephant travel agency network, analyzes the situation: “For example, if you buy tickets in advance, you can pay about 90 thousand rubles for three people. But already in Kamchatka, you can pay several hundred thousand for a helicopter flight back and forth for three people, can you imagine what the difference is? As a result, people often return home with resentment, because they see nothing further than Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and weak low-star hotels. I think flights to Kamchatka won’t go up in price this season either, but this is a trap: people come with high hopes, but they drive plus or minus 30 km from the capital of the region, without really seeing the real Kamchatka.” And elite tourists, the expert believes, do not really like Kamchatka yet due to the fact that there are no five-star hotels there. But on the other hand, says Aleksan Mkrtchyan, it is interesting to go to Kamchatka for lovers of hunting and fishing who go on such a trip for their hobby: they are not afraid of everyday difficulties and inconveniences, they are ready to live in the forest, on the river, although the price of such a fishing tour is approaching half a million rubles, it is also not cheap.
“The state still does not understand what we want from Kamchatka,” Aleksan Mkrtchyan believes. As the ATA Vice-president recalled, Kamchatka received the largest flow of tourists in 2022: charter flights were launched to the Far East, including Kamchatka. But then Rostourism was disbanded, charters were no longer funded, only regular flights fly, but they are more expensive. “But with charters, tour operators bought bundles of hotel rooms, and holidays in Kamchatka became really more accessible to Russians. However, not all local authorities liked it,” recalls Aleksan Mkrtchyan. — In the same year, 2022, Alexander Kumarkov, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources of Kamchatka, said that Kamchatka did not need poor tourists. He even called them “beggarly packers.” True, he was criticized for such an opinion, although he said a sensible thing, but we do not like harsh thoughts of officials.”
The ban on access to Mutnovsky volcano is also a lack of accessibility
Alexander Kumarkov was right that Kamchatka needs to seriously develop its tourism infrastructure in order to be ready to receive tourists en masse, the ATA representative believes. This also applies to local attractions. After all, the accessibility of a region is not just about money. But also the opportunity to visit the most famous places. If local attractions are expensive, remote, or closed, tourists’ options are limited.
“The real Kamchatka begins where civilization ends and nature begins,” recalls Aleksan Mkrtchyan, emphasizing the importance of visiting and exploring Kamchatka’s natural sites. But, indeed, 80 percent of tourists do not see the Kamchatka beauties: either it is very expensive to get there, or it is unsafe (if we talk about helicopter tours). For example, volcanoes – a valuable feature of the region — are often far away, not everyone is easy to reach. But there is also a closer one, for example, the Mutnovsky volcano — it is only 80 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Mutnovsky is famous for its beauties. It is one of the most active in Kamchatka, clouds of steam and gases are escaping from the depths, and these interesting phenomena can be observed.
But Mutnovsky has the same difficulty: lack of accessibility. The volcano is simply closed, excursions and ascents have been prohibited here for more than a year. This decision was made by the local authorities, since the seismic activity of the volcano can threaten rock collapses.
On the one hand, the ban on visiting Mutnovsky may be unpleasant for those who want to see the beauty of this volcano. On the other hand, Aleksan Mkrtchyan notes, it protects travelers from danger. It is clear that the authorities are responsible: if there is a sudden emergency at the volcano, the death of a person, officials will be responsible, including. There are also travel agencies and guides who took people to a dangerous volcano without official permission. However, professional guides will not go to such an object, and some irresponsible people who do not understand the situation will climb without hesitation. “Last year, you may recall, the head of a travel agency was sentenced, whose guides took tourists to Klyuchevskaya volcano in Kamchatka in 2022, as a result of which nine people died. It was the guides who made the fatal mistakes on that tour, but the entrepreneur still had to answer,” the expert recalls.
However, there is a major problem: continued inaction regarding the fate of the volcano.
Is it easier to forget a problem than to solve it?
Indeed, it is always easy to ban something. But finding a solution to the problem is already more difficult, we need to work with this. “The Mutnovsky story is an analogue of the approaches of the southern regions, where they also sometimes believe that, say, it is easier to close the beach and declare the area unsuitable for swimming than to clean or equip it,” says Aleksan Mkrtchyan. —Kamchatka thinks the same way: it’s easier to close Mutnovsky and forget about it than to mess with it.”
Yes, to carry out any work that would ensure the accessibility and safety of routes on Mutnovsky, you need not 3 people, but 200, roughly speaking, you need resources, the expert explains. Efforts must be made. This sometimes becomes a barrier for officials.
Although you can find ways out. In places like Mutnovsky, serious examinations can and should be carried out, and then special work that will help organize safe ascents and hiking along the slopes of the volcano, arranging comfortable routes, ATA Vice-president believes: “For example, it is possible to carry out artificial gatherings of dangerous overhanging canopies with human hands. After all, they carry out, for example, directional explosions for artificial avalanches in order to facilitate and secure snow slopes. It is 100 percent realistic to carry out such work on the Mutnovsky volcano.”
Why is this not happening? “This requires political will and finances. However, I don’t see either one or the other yet,” says Aleksan Mkrtchyan.
As Andrey Volobuyev notes, the economy of the region is growing very well, the leadership of which is really investing in the development of its territory, taking into account both the needs of local residents and the interest of guests. “If tourists have a great desire to see the Kamchatka volcanoes firsthand, it’s a sin not to use it. I agree that in order for Mutnovsky to become a visited site again, certain governmental decisions are needed: select and invite specialists, examine the volcano’s massif, and carry out certain work. This requires the activity of the Kamchatka authorities, the support of the federal government, and, perhaps, the involvement of business in order to jointly ensure the safety of routes on Mutnovsky. Well, such points of attraction are already starting to work for the benefit of the region,” says the economist.
“In our country, not all local authorities understand how to make money from tourism. Tourists are often seen as an enemy who has come to litter and shit (although this happens). We are not used to seeing a tourist as an investor who brought money for the development of the region, but in vain,” Aleksan Mkrtchyan is convinced. “Therefore, efforts must be made to ensure that attractive facilities in the region are well equipped and accessible to travelers.”
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Источник: argumenti.ru