Makhachkala, August 18, 2015. More than 200 experts fr om different Russian regions discussed major aspects  of effective interaction between the cultural heritage and tourism industry, the preservation  and use of cultural heritage for tourism development within  the workshop "Monuments and Tourism: overcoming contradictions", held in Veliky Novgorod on August 14.

Opening the plenary session devoted to the creation of tourism clusters in historical cities, the deputy Minister of Culture Alla Manilova told about the growth of inbound tourism and geography:

"This year Russia attracted 25% more tourists from the Philippines and Thailand as compared to the last year. The number of tourists from Iran has increased by 40%, the travelers from Korea and China arrive in the country more often. I can tell that Chinese tourists are interested in visiting "Red Line" - Lenin's places across Russia”.

In his turn, the chairman of Dagestan Tourism Committee Vitaly Demchenko noted that Dagestan has already started the preparation of touristic passports. "There are 6474 cultural heritage sights located in the republic, among them: 4514 cultural heritage objects of regional significance, 1960 federal facilities and 25 historic-cultural monuments and architecture protected by UNESCO, including the historical and architectural facilities and sites in 40 settlements of Dagestan.

The Republic of Dagestan is rich in the number of sights of cultural and historical heritage. It allows us to use them for the tourism development in the republic. In our view, developing cultural tourism in Dagestan should become an alternative to the mass and traditional tourism for two reasons.

The performed researches determined, that Dagestanis take keen interest in the history, culture and architecture of their homeland. Besides, the mass tourism is an important component of the seasonal factor. We can assume that the mountain tourist centers will be overcrowded during the winter holidays.

The studies also determined the ability to use existing Dagestan historical and cultural monuments to enrich the tourist route "Caucasus Gate at the intersection of worlds".

The celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Derbent will become the starting point from which Dagestan could start implementing the principles of regional tourism development"- Vitaly Demchenko resumed.

The deputy Russian minister of culture Alla Manilova pointed out the positive dynamics of tourism development in Dagestan, highlighting the major problem all Russian regions such as poor infrastructure to the cultural sites. Manilova, as an example, offered a good experience to build a network of guesthouses wh ere tourists could rush into the traditional life and culture of the peoples of Dagestan.