Stanislav Aristov: “The Ingush are hospitable, keep an open table, but can't get used to being service employees”

Interview by Pavel Tsoroyev, Nazran. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Stanislav Aristov has recently headed the Ingush Committee on Tourism. He was born in Dagestan in 1986, graduated from Dagestan State University, worked in Moscow, then was invited by Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to Ingushetia. Aristov told Vestnik Kavkaza about his plans on tourism development.

- Is tourism a familiar sphere for you?

- Yes, it is. Since my first day in the republic, I was impressed by beauty of mountains, ancient castle complexes. I hope I will manage to use all my skills in promotion of the Ingush tourist product.

- What will be a priority direction in tourism development?

- Let’s be honest, foreign tourist inflows won’t rush to us either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Today all efforts should be focused on development of internal tourism which is poorly developed. So many families live in cities and villages of Ingushetia, who have never been in mountains. At the same time, people who visit the mountain do it spontaneously. We want to systematize their recreation. We should establish tourist information centers all over the republic, where people could get information on excursions and active recreation. This year we will prepare all necessary documents for opening and they will start their operation in winter. We are open for partnership with any tourist companies.

The second direction will be creating tourist roots and informational support. We should inform people about hotels and camps, guest houses, shops, cafes. Today Ingushetia is not actively presented in Internet. We are developing device application called “Ingushetia On Your Palm.” Everybody can download it and look through online. There will be information on historic monuments in three languages. It will begin working soon.

- What do you think about the visit to the republic by Director General of the Resorts of the North Company, Sergey Vereshchagin?

- Sergey Vereshchagin emphasized a high pace of constructing a resort in the Dzheirakh region for the investor’s money. He noted that we are the only region in the North Caucasus which started construction without waiting for federal resources.

On November 15-17 a joint arrangement will take place. The winners of contests in Mashuk Forum on development of tourism will come. We will cooperate tightly with the leadership of the Resorts of the North Caucasus in the future and prepare for the district exhibition Turistika (April 25-27, 2014) where the best tourism projects of the investors will be presented.

- What about event tourism?

- We will develop a calendar of event tourism – a calendar of festivals and events of all-republican character. We want to celebrate the days by folk festivals. Sometimes arrangements are held only for those departments and bodies which control initiators. We are ready to consider any projects. One head is good, two heads are better. My personal e-mail is aristov_stats@mail.ru for talented and created people who are numerous in Ingushetia.

- How will you attract people?

-       I have once been at training classes in Belarus which has a common border with the Smolensk Region, and I have learnt about organization of guest houses and private hotels. We will organize a work shop on the topic in the upcoming future and publish information about it on our portal. The Ingush are hospitable, keep an open table, but don’t get used to be service employees. First of all, we should welcome guests, payment is secondary. To be hospitable is a duty of every Caucasus resident.

- Will you develop health tourism?

- Of course we will focus on health tourism. For example, we will purchase saddles for riding horses, including saddles which can be used by disabled children. The next year we mark the 100th anniversary of the Wild Division. And the republic will get its own horse school built for money of Rosneft without budget investments.