Ecopark and a set of winter recreation will appear on Suzdal lands

At the seating of Tourism Council of Vladimir Region, the governor, Nikolai Vinogradov, said that the area needed complex projects of tourist and recreational areas with special infrastructure so that the visitors had not only the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of this ancient land, but also spend time one-on-one with the nature. At the same time, he said, tourist complexes' managers should work more actively with travel agents as it’s impossible to manage without the help of specialized companies while creating and running these modern tourist facilities.

At the meeting two promising eco-projects were presented for the Vladimir Region. One of them suggests creating a large modern sports park on the basis of already existing winter-sports-complex, Hare's Hill, in the village of Sadoviy of Suzdal district,. According to the Governor, private investments will serve as a source of financing. According to the director of Dolina Company Alexander Veretennikov, at an area of 161 hectares three ski and a biathlon racing courses are planned to be build. The reconstruction will also include creating of water trampolines, waste treatment facilities and converting nearby dormitories into modern hotels. The implementation of this long-term project will increase the flow of visitors to the Hare’s Hill complex to 100 thousand people a year.

Another project which implies creating of Ecopark Suzdal was presented by the General Director of Green-PIK company Sergei Konin. By now, Ecopark Development Council has been already established; the official web-site, where more than 80 thousand visitors have registered already, has also been launched. A scheme of functional zoning is approved, surveys and topographic works are underway, new partners, including foreign ones, are entering the project,. By today, 452 applications for purchasing lands and erecting tourist infrastructure at the Ecopark have been submitted. According to some surveys, over 80% of Suzdal district's population have positive attitude towards the establishing of the eco-tourism cluster. The Ecopark will start receiving guests as early as this year.

Earlier the Tourism Board of Vladimir Region's administration recommended an innovative Ecopark Suzdal project to be included in the federal program. It was supported by the international community at BRICS forum on December 2, 2011. At public hearings of the Council of the Russian Federation and the State Duma the project was marked with medal "For merits in tourism development in Russia." The Ecopark will occupy an area of 125 square kilometers and accommodate over 10 thousand objects of tourist infrastructure, including four thousand mini-hotels in 10 eco-villages, four thousand tourist lodges, two thousand guest houses and other eco-themed tourist facilities. The estimated investment will be about 60 billion roubles.