Participants of the first and second seasons of the All-Russian competition “Masters of Hospitality” – one of the projects of the presidential platform “Russia – the Land of Opportunities” – organized a number of excursions with sightseeing of the Kursk and Oryol regions, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the cities of Kolomna and Rostov-on-Don, for internally displaced persons from the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.
The tour guides were participants in the new program “Ambassadors of Hospitality”, which was launched in 2022. 107 tourism industry professionals, semi-finalists and finalists of the Masters of Hospitality competition, who not only develop the tourist attractiveness of their regions, but also unite people interested in the hospitality industry into large local communities, have been named ambassadors.
“Participants in the projects and competitions of our platform “Russia – Land of Opportunities” are sympathetic, kind, caring people. Some of our graduates joined the ranks of volunteers and volunteers and help in organizing comfortable accommodation and accommodation for migrants, someone was able to attract sponsors and thus help financially. The idea of the “Masters of Hospitality” team to organize cultural leisure activities for refugees in different regions seemed to be extremely popular. Who, if not the best experts in the field of hospitality of our country, can make guests feel at home, and also clearly show them that Russia is a country with a unique history and cultural heritage, where talented, open, interesting, caring people live”, Aleksey Agafonov, First Deputy General Director of the ANO “Russia – the Land of Opportunities” shared.
“Charging people with positive emotions, surprising and inspiring, opening interesting places for guests are the main tasks of the hospitality industry. “Masters of Hospitality” always welcome everyone, and most importantly, they are ready to show and tell how beautiful our country and each of its regions“, – said the head of the competition “Masters of Hospitality” Bogdan Kondratov.. strong>
Ambassadors of Hospitality organized cultural and educational excursions to the most interesting places in Russian cities.
Winner of the Masters of Hospitality contest, Candidate of Historical Sciences Roman Bogatyrev introduced the guests from Donbass to the history of the city of Orel and its famous natives.
“During the tour for the guests of the Oryol region, it was a pleasure to observe a keen interest in the history of the city and our region. Participants asked questions, took pictures against the backdrop of monuments and architectural buildings. The excursion itself became one of the components of the Dobro track of the Leaders of Russia contest of the Russia – Land of Opportunities platform. The first walk was attended by 15 people, therefore, as part of my social project, I will undoubtedly continue to conduct excursions for migrants,” Roman noted. Masters of Hospitality” Anastasia Zolotareva focused on cultural and historical sights and Orthodox shrines:
“Together with colleagues from the Tourist Information Center of the Kursk Region, with the support of the regional Committee for Culture, we prepared excursion programs. We visited the Kursk Root Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos male desert, the estate of A.A. Feta, where the smallest sightseers rode a donkey-drawn cart. Everyone also enjoyed a sightseeing tour of the historic city center. Our excursions have already covered more than 100 people, in the near future we plan to organize additional excursions for another 500 guests.”
Irina Sazonenko, a semi-finalist of the “Masters of Hospitality” competition, introduced the guests to the ancient military traditions of the city of Kolomna as a border medieval fortress.
“Our city has more than 840 years of history and, of course, first of all, we showed the guests one of the largest and most powerful fortresses of its time – the Kolomna Kremlin and made a walking tour of its territory. Another interesting place was the Fragrant Joys Museum, where the participants of our walk learned about the development of soap making and perfumery in Russia in the 19th century. I would like to thank the Administration of the city district of Kolomna for organizing the tour,”Irina said.
Children and their teachers from the city of Petrovskoye were fascinated by the beauty of the Bashkir capital and appreciated the local street food. Their guide was the winner of the “Masters of Hospitality” competition Leysan Suleymanova:
“The Suleyman travel excursion center, together with the Public Chamber of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Bashtursoyuz, managed to introduce the guys to Ufa. We visited the square of the Bashkir hero Salavat Yulaev, in the historical center, visited the modern Art Square space and even tried national street food – Kystyburgers from Marat Naskhutdinov, the winner of the first season of the Masters of Hospitality contest. The children were pleased with the surprises prepared on the tour. They have an extensive program of travel to interesting places in Bashkiria ahead of them.”
A tour of the iconic places of the southern capital of Russia for internally displaced persons was organized by the finalist of the competition “Masters of Hospitality” Konstantin Malyshev together with guides from the regional student tourism team “Studtourism.SFU”, implemented on the basis of the Southern Federal University.
“Perspective young guides and organizers of tours, united by the project “Studtourism.SFU”, presented the guests of our city with an exciting walking tour. I want to tell the guys, in particular Anastasia Streltsova and Evgeny Drobin, thank you for your response and support. During the tour, the Don embankment made the greatest impression on the guests from Donbass. Berths of the pleasure fleet, ships and motor ships, monuments and interesting art objects, fishermen sitting on the shore and the cry of seagulls… all this immersed them in the Rostov atmosphere. The walk also covered the key sights of the city. We were glad to see happy, interested faces of people. We will definitely continue this interesting format of our meetings!”, –said Konstantin.
The head of the competition “Masters of Hospitality” Bogdan Kondratov added that in cities hosting migrants, organization of free sightseeing walks and trips. Another activity for guests of the regions will be thematic intellectual games on culture, literature, art and tourism, which are now being developed by hospitality ambassadors. And some of the craftsmen prepare branded souvenirs from their regions for the IDPs, which guests will receive as a keepsake.
