According to Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Anton Basansky, the 18 new nature trails totaling 126 kilometers in length will be located in nine regions of the Russian Far East. The first of these, a health trail, has opened in Ulan-Ude.   

Residents of territories with a preferential status – priority development areas, the Free Port of Vladivostok, the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, and the Kuril Islands of the Russian Federation – are implementing over 400 tourism projects, based on agreements with the Russian Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, he said. 

“Promoting tourism is a creative affair. Tourism promoters are pro-active and creative people. They are romantics eager to develop the Russian Far East and Arctic.  These romantics are the first to come, followed by middle-sized businesses and finally by major investors that build big health resorts,” Anton Basansky intimated.   

He added that his ministry was drafting a tourism development strategy for the Russian Far East and Arctic, which would reckon with the regional specifics and reflect the interests of ordinary people, businesses, and the state.