On 14–15 April 2011, an International Conference “The Role of the Railways in European Tourism” is to be held in Merano, Italy. It is organised by Business Dialog, with assistance from the N.I. Borodina Russian Centre and official support from Russian Railways and the authorities of the province of Bolzano.

The conference on railway tourism in Europe is the first of its kind. It will focus most on the effect of railway transport on development of European tourism and determination of the strategic spheres of and prospects for growth in this sphere.

“The opportunity offered by the conference for exchanging experience and ideas on railway tourism will raise the partnership between all the participants on this dynamically growing market to a new level,” noted Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin in his letter of support. He also noted that it is vital to join forces to develop international transport corridors and improve the regulatory, legal and technological framework for railway tourism. He believes this conference will make a major contribution to strengthening co-operation between tourist and railway companies in Russia and Europe.

The Governor of the province of Bolzano, Luis Durnwalder, pinpointed, as the main purpose of this business meeting, discussion of the prospects for increasing tourist flows in Europe by actively developing  cross-border railway communications and promoting the appeal of railway tourism as one of the most dynamically developing branches of the world economy.

The plenary session, entitled “Development of cross-border rail travel as a factor promoting growth of the tourist market,” is to focus on European railway tourism development trends and the prospects for establishing international consortia for developing high-speed lines within Europe.

The participants will also discuss problems of lifting barriers on tourist routes following wide and narrow gauge tracks and will consider possible ways to resolve this issue in order to increase international passenger flows.

The event will then split into two key directions: formation of international railway tours (problems and prospects) and integration of Russian routes into the European tourist area. The possibility of expanding sales of Russian tourist routes in Europe, innovative ways to develop the railway infrastructure, and the types of rolling stock most in demand for tourist routes will also be considered. The business programme of the conference will include a presentation of deluxe carriages organised by Federal Passenger Company.

The participants in the conference will include representatives of the Bolzano administration and business community, and heads of European tourist companies, industry associations and unions, and national railway administrations: Governor of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano Luis Durnwalder, Burgomeister of Merano Günther Januth, Director of the Department for Passenger Carriage and High-speed Communications of UIC Ignacio Barrón, General Director of Lithuanian Railways Statis Dailidka, founder and General Director of Majestic Imperator Train De Luxe Rieck Gottfield, Managing Director of Eurail Group G.I.E. René De Groot, and Director of the British company Priestmangoode Paul Priestman, and others.

The Russian delegation to the conference will be headed  by Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin and will include Russian Railways Vice-President and General Director of Federal Passenger Company Mikhail Akulov, the Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Meshkov, Deputy Head of the Department for International Co-operation of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Galina Andreyeva, General Director of RZD-Travel Alexander Shamshiev, General Director of VIP Service Dmitry Gorin and others.

The opening ceremony of the “Russia through a Train Window” photo-exhibition will be an important cultural event. This exhibition is a joint project of Russian Railways and the well-known photographer Anton Lange. The idea of the project is to present the Russia of today as seen through the lens of a photographer travelling along the railways of Russia. The photos give an amazingly lively picture of Russia, covering virtually the entire country, from the south to the Arctic Circle. The photographs exhibited were taken during rail expeditions from November 2006 to November 2009 through the country’s unique and most picturesque regions.

For more information about the event, go to /projects_94.htm.