The Russian Geographical Society together with the Consulate General of Russia in Hong Kong took part in the international Culture, Tourism and Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, held at the AsiaWorld-Expo exhibition center.
At the international exhibition in Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, countries and regions of Asia, Africa, and Europe presented their unique culture and tourist opportunities. This big event was designed to stimulate the development of international cooperation, world trade, education, finance, and leisure and travel industry in order to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic and accelerate the pace of "reset and recovery" after it.
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Exhibits about the travels and expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society to the Arctic, a region that traditionally attracts tourists from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, were displayed in the exhibition space organized by the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Consul of the Consulate General Ekaterina Bogucharskaya told the participants about the tourism potential of our country, closely intertwined with the richest cultural heritage.
“From cosmopolitan Moscow and St. Petersburg to the picturesque Far East and Kamchatka – Russia has something to offer to any traveler,” Ekaterina Bogucharskaya noted.
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Professionals of the tourism industry and interested travelers, along with the business program, were introduced to the RGS's own expedition trips to the Arctic, developed by the Society's experts. They launched and presented to the country the first collection of their own popular science tours. The new format of travel allows you to feel like a participant in expeditions and big science. In 2023, the brave and inquisitive are invited to four expedition adventures with the RGS: the journey of discovery "Kaliningrad: Full Immersion", the first Arctic family adventure "Treasure Hunters: Whirlpools and Gems of the Anabar", a large summer photo safari "The Lost World of the Anabar: From Deer to Taimen", and "In the Footsteps of the Discoverers with the RGS".
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“So far, Antarctica, rather than the Northern Hemisphere, receives a profit from the rise in popularity of ‘white tourism’ in the countries of Southeast Asia and China. Nevertheless, before the pandemic, more than half of the Arctic cruise tourists on Russian ships were already Chinese citizens,” said Natalia Belyakova, Director of the Expeditionary and Tourism Development Department of the Russian Geographical Society. “So the Arctic, especially the Russian part of it, is a promising ‘new white’. The interest in the region will only grow. Visitors from China are attracted not only by natural phenomena characteristic of both poles. More than the Northern Lights – this is how the tourist potential of the Russian Arctic can be described. For example, the largest population of the king of the Arctic is located here, off the coast of the Chukchi Sea. We confirmed this during the polar bear census on Wrangel Island last year – with the support of the RGS, digital monitoring and neural network analysis were used for the first time to account for the animals. Often, guests from China visit the North Pole after the South Pole – and the subsequent comparison is usually in favor of the Arctic. The tourist flow from China is beginning to recover gradually. The common task of the Arctic regions, relevant departments, and public organizations is to make sure that the Russian Arctic is visited exclusively by a legal, responsible and eco-educated tourist, whose financial contribution will allow regional economies to develop tourism, taking into account the restrictions and obligations assumed by everyone who shows guests the fragile Arctic. Our expedition trips to the Arctic will be appreciated by such a category of tourists, and we are glad that they are received with interest by professionals of outbound tourism in China.”