Post #141

Russian-African Partnership: Tourism Needs Energy A roundtable discussion on "Tourism Development and Sociocultural Cooperation with African Countries" was held in the Russian State Duma. Participants, including members of parliament and representatives of key ministries, discussed visa facilitation, expanding air travel, and support measures to unlock the continent's tourism potential, as well as ways to increase tourism from African countries to Russia. Particular attention was paid to developing a relevant image of the African continent. Nikolai Valuev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, emphasized that travel to Africa is not as dangerous as it might seem: "Russia fully addresses the potential risks for its citizens traveling abroad legally, also through tourism assistance. However, to my knowledge, there have been no serious recent incidents related to African countries." However, realizing this potential requires addressing fundamental infrastructure issues. When discussing tourism development, we imply qualitative improvements in many other segments, including logistics and services, including hotels, restaurants, entertainment, event venues, and much more. All of this requires high-quality and stable energy infrastructure, so even discussions of the cultural and humanitarian sphere and tourism cannot avoid returning to the topic of developing strategic infrastructure and ensuring a stable energy supply. #RussiaAfrica#tourism#energy