Sergey Lebedev: "Tourism is just one dimension of CIS-wide humanitarian cooperation among many others"

Chairman of the CIS Execom Sergey Lebedev says tourism is not simply a sector of the economy, it is sector of cultural understanding and raising awareness among the youth. Cooperation in tourism is being pursued under the terms and mandated prescribed in the 1993 CIS Agreement on Tourism. The Agreement establishes a common tourism space and an implementation mechanism – CIS Tourism Board. Throughout the CIS tourisn delivers double-digit growth and a positive rate of incoming and outgoing flows. IPA CIS was very instrumental in promoting tourism in the CIS through its model laws and recommendations. Forward-looking framework includes a CIS Mid-term Plan of Action in Tourism and a CIS Strategy to Promote Cooperation in Tourism.