The state national park Paanajärvi is included in the list of the national parks of Russia most visited by foreign tourists, – press-service of the Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation has informed on it referring to the statement of Vsevolod Stepanitsky, deputy director of the Department of state policy and regulations in the sphere of environment preservation and environmental safety of Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, during the recent meeting seminar on problems of ecological tourism development held in the national park Smolenskoye Poozerie.
The state national park Paanajärvi founded in 1992 is located in the northwest of Karelia, in territory of Louhi region. The national park is featured for its virgin nature, rich fauna and flora, as well as unique beautiful landscapes. The pearl of the park is Lake Paanajärvi characterized by exclusive depth (128 meters) disregard its small size (1,5x24 km). Rivers full of rapids, surprising multistage waterfalls, high red rocks, ancient Lappish sanctuaries on Mt. Kivakka – all these features attract many tourists.
According to Vsevolod Stepanitsky cited by the press-service of the Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, the volume of the funds received by national parks of the country within the scope of the tourist and recreational activity last year has made 232 million roubles, having increased in the past two years by 61%. Total number of visitors of national parks has grown 2.3 times in 2008 in comparison with the last year and has made 5730 thousand people, including 9,7 thousand foreign citizens. Among the national parks which have attracted the greatest number of foreign tourists alongside with the park Paanajärvi Vsevolod Stepanitsky has mentioned parks of Couronian Spit (Kaliningrad area), Elbrus (Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria), Losiny Ostrov (the Moscow area), Transbaikalian (Republic of Buryatia) and Pribaikalsky (the Irkutsk Region).
At the same time, the press-service of the Ministry informs, for more effective utilization of tourist potential of national parks of the country the Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation considers it necessary to develop the program of tourism development for each national park, to create a qualitative infrastructure to serve the visitors, and to develop advertising and informational support of natural, historical and cultural features of specially protected natural reservations.
The Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation has also prepared the bill of modification of the Federal law On Specially Protected Natural Reservations directed on maintenance of complex approach to issues of preservation and rational use of recreational resources, formation of a transparent mechanism of rent relations development in national parks, as well as creation of preconditions to involve large investors capable to develop tourist and recreational activity in significant territories, the press-service informs.
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