NCFD: hospitality industry

Ahead of winter, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered to allocate the territory of the Caucasian Mineral Waters into a separate tourist project. Alexander Khloponin, plenipotentiary envoy of the president to the NCFD, promised that in the near future international experts on development of resorts of an international level will arrive in the region. The project of the Caucasian Mineral Waters development will be similar to the project of mountain-skiing resorts’ development. “We want intensive investment to be provided to the region from 2014. We have an objective: in 2012 we should develop a project, in 2013 the budget of the project should be adopted, and then investors will be attracted and the project will be launched,” Khloponin said.

At the same time, the administration of the NCFD thinks that for development of the tourist cluster it is important to synchronise it with a legal basis. Amendments to the federal law On Special Economic Zones in Russia should improve the situation in the tourist industry. According to the chairman of the executive council of “Resorts of the North Caucasus,” Ahmed Bilalov, benefits and guarantees fixed by the law will be a great impulse for investors and confirmation that the state is ready to share risks in implementation of tourist projects.

Most residents of the North Caucasus tourist cluster are ready to work in the "hospitality industry”. The All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center’s research shows that 59% of respondents want to work in a major tourist centre, if it is situated near their homes. Most of them are middle-aged and elderly people, who have a low level of income.

More than half of those who want to work in a tourist centre are ready to change their job. 12% of respondents are ready to be cooks and servants, 9% - maids and locksmiths, 11% want to be sporting instructors, 15% - guides and entertainers, 6% of respondents are ready to have any job in the tourist sphere, 20% - in the sphere of trade.

Responding to  the question “Tourists of what nation would you treat most hospitably?”, people said: “All the same” (63%); “Tourists from my region” (14%) and “Tourists from the NCFD” (12%).

The research shows that almost a half of interviewed people know about construction of a major resort center in the North Caucasus. The majority of respondents positively view construction of the mountain-skiing resort (75% positively and 16% rather positively). According to social scientists, the results prove that respondents characterize the positive influence of the construction on various aspects of life in the region.

To destroy the myth about the “bandit Caucasus” and show the world that the region is beautiful and hospitable, “Resorts of the North Caucasus” decided to produce a movie similar to “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” by Leonid Gaidai. It is a well-known fact that the movie underwent a difficult route before it was allowed to be released. But the hard fate of “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” didn’t threaten “Resorts of the North Caucasus.” Ilya Tilkin was chosen to be a script writer. He was invited to Karachay-Cherkessia to learn about the life of local people and finding a location for future shooting.

The main character will be a girl from a mountain family. She doesn’t want to marry the guy her farther has found for her. A foreigner comes to their house accidently, who knows about the Caucasus only from crime series on TV. The movie will be a journey across the Caucasus, in which people will see the outstanding beauty of the Caucasus regions, its tourist potential and learn about ethnic traditions. Shooting will start next spring, a year later the movie should be released in Russia and Europe.

Pavel Martynov. Exclusively to VK