HERITAGE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL RUSSIA: A CASE STUDY IN COLLABORATIVE TOURISM PLANNING IN AN INTERNATIONAL SETTING

Roy Ramthun, Ph.D. organized on a local level. Some areas show sophistication Concord University in tourism development while others are struggling to Athens, WV begin the process.

Susan Williams, Ph.D. Russia has signifi cant historical and cultural resources Concord University to off er as tourism attractions. Although St. Petersburg Vladimir Shalaev, Ph.D. and Moscow have well developed attractions and Svetlana Guseva infrastructure, rural communities in the outlying regions Irina Polinkova are just beginning the process of identifying, developing, Sofi a Chervakova and marketing potential destination sites. Svetlana Ivanova Anna Pahkmutova Th e village of Yurino is located on the Volga River in Anastasia Shalaev the Mari-El Republic. During the 19th century, the Mari State Technical University Sheremetovs, one of Russia’s wealthiest families, had their estate in Yurino. Th e family fl ed Russia during the Abstract.—In the United States, advisers from such Communist Revolution and the manor house and estate organizations as universities and extension services often fell into disrepair. Today, community leaders in Yurino assist rural communities with community planning are seeking to restore the manor and estate to attract and development eff orts. Th ese outside groups typically visitors from cruise ships passing on the Volga and other facilitate communication and discussion among international tourists who are seeking historical and stakeholders and help to lay out a process by which the cultural experiences. Th e Russian people have a deep community may proceed towards its shared goals. Faculty pride in their cultural artifacts, but this pride does not members from Concord University, West Virginia, always translate into objective decisionmaking in regards were likewise invited to participate in the community to cultural preservation and marketing. planning process for a rural Russian community seeking to preserve a large historic estate and develop heritage Yurino’s leaders have actively sought input from tourism initiatives. Local stakeholders were enthusiastic individuals with heritage or international tourism about the project, yet many cross-cultural barriers slowed credentials. When faculty from Concord University or obstructed the planning. Issues of Russian culture and (West Virginia) fi rst visited the site, local offi cials made the structure of local government have been identifi ed statements that indicated that United States-based as conditions that must be overcome for collaborative tourism educators were an important source of expertise planning to work in a rural Russian community. and guidance. Even at this early stage in the process, local planning appeared still to revolve around an “expert” 1.0 INTRODUCTION model of planning. Later work stressed the inclusion Russia is undergoing a variety of industrial and social of more stakeholders representing more constituencies. reforms as it attempts to move beyond its Communist Th ese eff orts to involve more stakeholders would prove past. Tourism and the infrastructure to support tourism challenging. were never developed under the Soviet Union. Today, however, the Russian republic recognizes the economic 2.0 METHODS potential of tourism and is making eff orts to modernize During two visits to the development site at Yurino, or develop the nation’s attractions and tourism the study group participated in a variety of formal and infrastructure. Th ese development eff orts are often informal meetings with stakeholders and state and local

Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium GTR-NRS-P-66 66 government offi cials. In addition to formal meetings, 3.2 Set Goals there were debriefi ngs and discussions with the Russian At this time Yurino developers’ primary goal is to students and interpreters who accompanied us. After create economic opportunities within the community. the meetings, researchers made notes (they did not take Secondary goals are the protection of local heritage and notes during meetings) and sought points of agreement. the provision of recreational and social opportunities to Areas in which there was not broad agreement among local residents. researchers are not included as discussion points in this case study. 3.3 Investigate Strengths and Weaknesses Th e strengths of the Yurino community development 3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION include: While many potential models of development are available, Gunn and Var (2002) propose a Outstanding cultural site. Th e critical elements straightforward eight-step model that fi ts the needs of of the Sheremetov estate are present and the key the Yurino development very well. We present the study buildings are structurally sound. Approximately team’s observations in the framework of the Gunn and a third of the main house has been restored with Var model to the extent that current research and site money from the state government. In addition, development allow. the site is located on the Volga River, providing scenic attraction and a water-based recreation 1) Identify sponsorship and leadership opportunity. Marcouiller and Prey (2005) point 2) Set goals out the importance of natural amenities such as 3) Investigate strengths and weaknesses these to tourism site development. 4) Develop recommendations Potentially good location. While the location 5) Identify objectives and strategies is approximately a 3-hour drive from the 6) Assign priorities and responsibilities nearest major population center, it is located on the Volga River. One of Russia’s most 7) Stimulate and guide development popular and growing tourism activities is cruise 8) Monitor feedback ship travel and river cruises routinely pass the development site. Large tracts of forest and As of this writing, the Yurino development has reached clean, fi shable streams are a short distance from the fourth element of this framework. the community, making ecotourism activities a potential package opportunity. 3.1 Sponsorship and Leadership Local residents and local government offi cials are strongly Th e following issues were identifi ed as challenges to motivated to develop the Sheremetov estate to attract be overcome in the development of Yurino and the visitors. Th e town of Yurino is primarily an agricultural Sheremetov castle site: community with few employment opportunities. Local people and town offi cials see the historic estate as a Remote location. Russia is a large place and the mechanism for creating jobs and a more varied economy. development site is remote. While cruise ship Th ey have made a variety of contacts in Russia and traffi c may provide a base of visitors to the site, internationally to move the project forward and have special eff orts will have to be made to attract been successful in getting initial seed money from the visitors from other locations. As international state government to begin the restoration process. No visitors are still rare in rural Russia, initial eff orts single organization has been willing to provide ongoing at market development will target the closest sponsorship and funding. urban areas and seek to develop the domestic tourism market.

Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium GTR-NRS-P-66 67 Short cruise season. Th e river freezes in winter issues became apparent after the second planning visit. and most companies off er tours only between Local residents are pessimistic about a cooperative May and mid-October. planning model. Th is observation is consistent with Russians’ current views of their political environment Limited tourism experience. Local tourism (Pipes 2004, McFaul 2005, Kasputin 2008) and was developers have little experience meeting the reiterated by several of our collaborators and interpreters. demands of either domestic or international Community members see public meetings as a way visitors. Eff orts will have to be made to give for the government to make people feel involved, but tourism developers and service providers a better residents expect that offi cials will do what they want in sense of both national and international tourism the end. Th is viewpoint certainly limits the participants’ standards. enthusiasm and may have caused some important Management of the estate. Th e manor house stakeholders to stay away from the planning process. is currently under the stewardship of the state government, which has classifi ed it as a historic Another issue in the planning process was a lack of data. site. While this classifi cation does not preclude Information relevant to feasibility analysis is not readily various forms of development or commercial available in Russia. Researchers from the United States use, it does require a high degree of consensus are used to operating in an environment of information before permission for further development will access. A wide variety of organizations routinely survey be given. visitors at local, state, and regional levels. Numerous reports, resource inventories, and databases provide 3.4 Recommendations a basis for assumptions about visitation numbers and At this stage of the project, three recommendations have patterns. In many other countries, information about been made. tourism trends and visitor motivation is also readily available and cost estimates for business start-ups 1) Plan and implement special events that will are fairly easy to obtain. By contrast, visitor surveys highlight the unique attributes of the site and and visitor preference studies are rare in Russia while increase awareness of the destination. Festivals estimates for construction or development costs are not that focus on local culture and history would readily off ered by vendors. In fact, asking about these serve to increase the awareness of residents of types of numbers is often discouraged. nearby cities to the features of the destination. 2) Develop waterfront facilities that will a) 4.0 CONCLUSIONS facilitate site visits by cruise ships and cruise Th e problems and issues facing small rural communities ship passengers, and b) serve as an amenity site in Russia are actually very similar to those faced by small with food service and entertainment in a relaxed communities in the United States. Th ere are signifi cant waterfront setting. diff erences in the tools available to solve those issues 3) Identify a wider audience of stakeholders to and in the amount of experience that stakeholders have invite into the planning process. Cruise ship in community-based planning; these factors are readily companies, private investors, national historic apparent to U.S.-based tourism planners. As the process preservation groups, and lodging franchises may of tourism development in Yurino slowly moves forward, all bring valuable input and resources. the use of community development tools will continue to be studied. 3.5 Obstacles 5.0 CITATIONS While tourism destination planning is a challenging th exercise in any context, a variety of cultural factors Gunn, C.A.; Var, T. 2002. Tourism planning (4 ed.) have added to the complexity of this project. Th ese New York: Routledge.

Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium GTR-NRS-P-66 68 Kasputin, B. 2008, Oct. 20. Liberals must come to McFaul, M. 2005. Russia and the west: A dangerous grips with new Russia. Th e Moscow Times. drift. Current History. October: 307-312.

Marcouiller, D.W.; Prey, J. 2005. Th e tourism supply Pipes, R. 2004. Flight from freedom: What Russians linkage: Recreational sites and their related natural think and want. Foreign Aff airs. May/June 2004: amenities. Th e Journal of Regional Analysis and 9-15. Policy. 35(1): 23-32.

The content of this paper refl ects the views of the authors(s), who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented herein.

Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium GTR-NRS-P-66 69