Present and Future of Industrial Tourism: View of Experts

Roundtable “Industrial tourism: Problems and Prospects. Business View” was held in the Tavricheskiy Palace under the auspices of the International Tourism Forum Travel Hub “Commonwealth”.

The participants of the roundtable discussed different types and directions of industrial tourism - museums at enterprises and excursions to existing production facilities, industrial tours for a wide range of tourists, educational excursions for children, etc. The discussion noted that the pandemic, which had a negative impact on traditional types of tourism, to a certain extent “helped” industrial tourism by reorienting the tourist flows towards domestic markets.

Moderator of the event, Vice-President of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ekaterina Lebedeva noted the great importance and potential of industrial tourism, stressed that this direction, which is quite new for the Commonwealth, does not yet have a clear regulatory framework that hinders its development.

General Director of the North-West Association for Industrial Tourism Irina Semenova elaborated on the factors that hinder the development of industrial tourism today: the need to ensure the safety of tourists and the safety of production, the absence of special corridors at sites, the facilities regime, etc.

The participants of the roundtable noted that businesses, which are interested in the development of industrial tourism, need state support and assistance. Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy stressed that many CIS Member Nations were interested in holding such events on an international scale. He also invited the participants of the roundtable to take part in the International Tourism Forum Travel Hub “Commonwealth” to be hold next March.

President of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Katenev supported the idea of discussing the prospects for the development of industrial tourism, exchanging information and experience with colleagues from the Commonwealth. He also stressed that the roundtable was of practical use and allowed making many important conclusions.