27.10.08

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Results of the Kamchatka Visitor Survey reveal a lot about Kamchatka tourism
In October and November this year, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo were held public presentations of the results of the Kamchatka Visitor Survey.  First the results of this recently completed were presented to the Kamchatka regional administration (October 23-24, 2008), and also at the 9th annual international conference on Kamchatka’s biological diversity (November 25-26, 2008). 
Representatives of the regional administration expressed appreciation for the completed work, and articulated serious interest in the results of the survey.  Assistant Governor of the Kamchatka Region, V. N. Karpenko, suggested that this survey report be the foundation for analogous surveys in concept and size, for a more detailed research of the use of natural resources on the peninsula for tourism and recreation.   
This survey is Russia’s first project of this type as similar surveys of tourists have not been done elsewhere in Russia. The survey was sponsored and financed through the cooperation of:  the UNDP/GEF project “Demonstrating sustainable conservation of biological diversity for example in four protected territories in the Kamchatka Region, Russian Federation,” Kamchatka Regional Tourism Agency, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Industry and Investment of the Kamchatka Region, and a team of sociologists from the USA under the leadership of Dr. David Ostergren, a specialist for issues concerning special protected areas, and also other Russian and international partners.  US financial sponsors included the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.  Special warm words of thanks from the project organizers are extended to the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Aviation Industry, whose administrations and specialists in all of their departments cooperated and gave special support for the completion of the survey. 
Over the course of a year, from July 15, 2007 to July 14, 2008 at the Yelizovo airport, visitors to Kamchatka filled out 3,434 surveys, and answered with different levels of detail 36 questions concerning various aspects of their visit to the peninsula, and its protected areas.  Particular goals of the survey were:  to give stakeholders information about visitors, to improve the quality of service to tourists, and to encourage more effective management of protected territories in the Kamchatka Region. 
After collecting the surveys, the received data was analyzed by a team of experts from the USA, the result of which have been put into a report covering visitors’ answers to the survey questions. 
The report offers valuable information for companies specializing in visitor service sectors and for tour operators, providing for a better understanding of the existing market of tourism services on Kamchatka and opportunities for developing the tourism industry.  The survey demonstrated the amount of money   on average is brought to the region by foreign and Russian visitors.  It is worth noting that among the respondents were 61.5% Russian and 38.5% non-Russians.  Interesting as well, is that among the foreigners, the largest numbers were from Germany, USA, and France in that order.  Happily 36% of the visitors said that they plan a repeat visit to Kamchatka in the next 5 years, and 20% wanted to return already in the next year.  Considering the fact that we cannot publish all of the results in the newspaper, we established the results on the sites with the following addresses:  http://www.unkam.ru/results/  as well on the site for the Association of special protected areas Kamchatka Region   http://wildkamchatka.ru/downloads/survey_rus.zip  and in 2009 they will be posted on the site of the Kamchatka Ecotourism Society  - www.kamchatkatourism.com

Martha Madsen, Coordinator Kamchatka Visitor Survey Program.

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