PSKOV, on March 28. /TASS/. Regions of Russia have learned to attract tourists with new types of fun and educational vacation – a popular religious tourism and pilgrimage. To interest visitors in the country, restore the temples, to open museums and to develop national trails dedicated to historical figures – the development of pilgrimage and religious tourism discussed at the national conference, which was held in Pskov.

Children’s tourism and spiritual origins

According to experts, increase the number of tourists in the regions is possible due to the development of religious and spiritual tourism and the involvement of children’s travel programs. In Russia the last five years to implement the relevant presidential program, the meaning of which is to provide as many children the opportunity to travel around the country, regardless of income of parents and region of residence .

As announced during the conference, Deputy Minister of culture of Russia Alla Manilova, from 2016 under the President’s “National programme of children’s tourism” opened a new tourist route for schoolchildren which was called “Spiritual origins”, and Pskov oblast became the first region where implemented this route.

“Last year was included in the directions of the [presidential] route, “Spiritual origins”. We had no doubt that we need to start with the Pskov region. Given a quota of 500 children from all over Russia, and we looked at the response of children and teachers, the response was fantastic. They were shocked by Moscow”, – said the Deputy Minister of culture of the Russian Federation.

Manilow also added that this year in Pskov on tour again children will come from across the country. The trip is planned in the summer, during the holidays, and autumn. A total of Pskov visited by about 2 thousand children from all regions.

“This year we have 2 thousand children will bring here from all regions. They will arrive in Pskov, imagine from the Far East, Siberia, Khakassia Republic, Tuva, the North Caucasus, from the Arctic region. It is very important for the children of Russia, because they will become familiar with the Pskov earth. This is important for your industry, because the industry of the Pskov region will be loaded with state order,” said manilow.

The opening of museums and the consolidation of the Russian society

Some regions rely on their historical past and offer tourists a unique sightseeing tour. For example, this year, the Pskov region has become a member of the travel project “Imperial route”, which is dedicated to the memory of Nicholas II and his family and brings together cities and regions, to preserve the evidence of their last period of life. This year the tour operators of the region will develop a program (pilgrimage, cultural and educational) that will be promoted in Russia and abroad.

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According to the head of the pilgrimage and tourist programs of the Foundation “Elisabeth-sergievskoe educational society” Marina Kirova, this project is new phenomenon in tourism.

“Imperial route” is a new phenomenon in tourism, which is a national asset, it is a collective project supported by the Ministry of culture. The route will create a unified historical and cultural space and unite the Russian society in the centenary year of the death of the Romanovs. And one of the important components of the route will be the opening of museums. For example, in Tobolsk will open the Museum of the Imperial family,” said Kirov.

The first tourists in the framework of the “Imperial route” Pskov oblast will take this summer. The regional agencies plan to show guests the railway station of the Pskov Spaso-Eleazarov and Pskovo-Pechersky monasteries, Izborsk fortress, the Trinity Cathedral of the Pskov Kremlin and a number of other objects. In the “Imperial route” is now Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tobolsk, Tyumen, Ekaterinburg. This year in addition to Pskov, he was joined by Kirov, Tomsk and Omsk region.

The difference between pilgrimage and religious tourism

The participants of the conference agreed that the industry needs to teach Russian society to make a distinction between pilgrimage and religious tourism.

“Pilgrimage and tourism are two different concepts. The pilgrimage involved in the Russian Orthodox Church, and we helped her. Religious tourism, it is not for pilgrims, not for those people who are churching it for a wider range of people who are drawn to spiritual knowledge. They sometimes do not know how to behave in the temple and shy, don’t know where a vigil candle for you to put where for the health, they need help,” said manilow.

This idea was continued by the Director of the Pilgrim center of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine society Elena Shcherbakova, urging the representatives of the tourism industry in the organization of religious routes to pay more attention to novoselchanin tourists. “It is necessary to pay great attention to non part of our population who would like to understand the spiritual origins of the country”, – said Shcherbakov.

The first Vice-the Governor of the Pskov region Faith Emelyanova noted that religious tourism is the second most popular among visitors to the region. “Spiritual tourism is something that is sought after like nothing else in the area, there are seven monasteries, almost 40 churches, there are only one in Pskov. This potential obliges and makes tourism one of the most important directions of development of region”, – said Emelyanov.

Over the past five years in the Pskov region, the growth of tourist traffic. Experts believe that this largely contributed to the creation of a regional tourist-recreational cluster “Pskov”. The project is included in the Federal target program “Development of domestic and inbound tourism in the Russian Federation” and in the list of priority investment projects in northwestern Federal district. The creation of the tourism cluster “Pskov” cost about 7 billion rubles, of which 2 billion rubles – the Federal budget.