Modern Aspects of Cultural and Historical Heritage Involvement in Tourism Activities in Russia

Abstract

The paper focuses on problems and prospects of cultural tourism development in Russia. The results of overall research at national, regional and local levels and case studies held in several regions of Russia are presented. They confirm that Russia’s huge cultural and historical heritage is still inefficiently used in tourism. In recent years the growing demand for cultural tours remains largely pending due to lack of modern tourist products and their insufficient promotion. The use of iconic and flagship attractions for increasing the destination attractiveness as well as culture-tourism interaction in regional development are being discussed. Currently, particular attention is paid to events based on cultural and historical sites. “National Calendar of Events” and national “Russian Event Award” are established to encourage event tourism growth. State policy in cultural tourism management in Russia is now changing mainly from the separate “growth points” development to the organization of interregional tourist routes based on diverse cultural heritage. Effective interaction of cultural heritage and tourism industry requires special measures and platforms based on the partnership of a vast number of stakeholders.