An application was launched in Russia – a guide for lovers of car tourism

In recent years, millions of Russian travelers have switched from the usual flights to Turkey and Goa to the development of remote corners of our country, its many sights that previously remained “in the shadows.” The latest IT product from a major Russian oil company promises to be a good help in this matter.

The events of recent years – coronavirus restrictions and the subsequent foreign policy problems – have become a powerful driver for the development of domestic tourism in our country. Thanks to this, car travel on the roads of our vast country is now experiencing a real boom.

Everyone who is more or less familiar with the specifics of domestic autotourism knows that not only a good road in itself is important for a traveler. It is important for a car tourist not only to quickly get from point “A” to point “B”, his path should also be comfortable and interesting. Just such a task is helped to solve by the information and service platform “Horizons of Russia: Come with us!” created by the oil company Rosneft.

− In our mobile application, we have combined the convenience of a branded loyalty program and a service that will tell the traveler about all the places of interest to visit, located not only on the highway itself, but also in its vicinity. The first such route, which is not only convenient, but also interesting to drive, was the M10 Rossiya between Moscow and St. Petersburg, – said Irina Andrianova, Director of the Information and Advertising Department of Rosneft Oil Company PJSC, at the presentation of the project. – The application will show not only the locations of branded gas stations along the route, but also inform about all types of services that are offered there to the traveler. The program will also offer the user routes laid with the help of Yandex Navigator to attractions located near the highway. So that he can get acquainted with them in the most comfortable way for himself, ”she explained.

The aggregator of tourist routes is built on a modular basis. The first module is already available on the website of the Horizons of Russia.RF project. It invites auto travelers to get acquainted with the sights of the M10 Rossiya highway. Currently, work is underway to develop other areas and integrate objects of tourist routes of partner regions: Arkhangelsk, Tula, Voronezh, Novgorod and Leningrad regions.

According to Alina Arutyunova, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee, the capital is ready to meet the challenges posed by the rapid development of autotourism in our country.

“Moscow is actively developing its transport infrastructure – creating a parking space in the city, intensively building high-speed highways and doing a lot to improve the life of motorists in the city,” Arutyunova believes. – Every fourth tourist comes to us by car. Basically, these are traveling families with children and citizens making business trips, business tourists. Improving the quality of service for tourists, the level of service and comfort of staying on the territory of tourist sites in Moscow and at roadside service facilities is one of our priority tasks. Our plans include the creation of a network of tourist information centers at Rosneft filling stations. This will diversify the types of services that independent travelers are used to receiving at gas stations, as well as acquaint them with tourist routes, sights and a calendar of events in the capital.

The project has a number of key differences from analogues. Thanks to the unique navigation functionality, all interesting locations will become stops on the route, which the autotourist will be able to independently collect and change at any time during the trip. At the same time, the traveler will be able to make a choice taking into account the time and distance to the nearest points of the route, the appropriate type of fuel, the availability of services and services.

− We have about 3,000 refueling complexes all over Russia, – said Vasily Georgiev, a representative of Rosneft’s Retail Business and Domestic Market Development Department. “And we know for sure that our customers need more than just fuel. People traveling by car need related infrastructure and an appropriate range of related services. The format of our filling stations “Zerno” offers motorists what they need. It has more than 1200 of our filling stations and their number is constantly increasing. In such points on the track there is everything that is required to “recharge” a person tired from a long ride. This is a small restaurant with delicious and healthy fast food, and a shop with a set of things and food products that are in demand on the road, and the opportunity to pump up the wheels or vacuum the interior. We have car washes, roadside hotels… In a word, everything you need is available around the clock. Separately, I want to note that we pay special attention to travelers with children and people with disabilities. All our facilities are equipped with wide comfortable ramps and special restrooms for guests with limited mobility. For families with children, restaurant tables are provided for 4-5 visitors. Moreover, their height is reduced – to make it more comfortable for children. Children’s corners have been created for the little visitors, where they can play. In parallel with the launch of the Horizons of Russia: Let’s go with us! platform, the branded mobile application received expanded functionality. Thanks to him, the user at any time can find out about the availability of certain services at the gas station of our network of interest to him. Thanks to this, motorists have a convenient opportunity to plan a route in advance, Georgiev believes.

One of the partners of the Horizons of Russia: Let’s go with us! is a country travel planning service RUSSPASS. The information and service platform will allow members of the Family Team loyalty program to take advantage of unique offers from partners and receive discounts when booking hotels.

“In the last two years, there has been a real breakthrough in the field of Russian autotourism,” says Sergey Lobarev, president of the National Association of Automotive Tourism and Caravanning. – Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to develop a concept for the development of caravanning in our country. In this regard, it is very important that in order to work on the project “Horizons of Russia. Come with me!” brought together business, government officials and IT industry professionals. This allows us to count on the successful development of the tourism industry. Often people do not dare to go on a road trip because they are not aware of the conditions and services on the intended route of the trip: where to spend the night, what to see along the way, where to rest. Meanwhile, gas stations are a point of attraction for such infrastructure and recreational opportunities. Our task is to create such an environment and make it accessible to the maximum number of people,” Lobarev is sure.

A set of tourist routes on the platform “Horizons of Russia: Come with us!” will gradually expand.

– We are already working with the authorities of the Central Federal District to make traveling along the M4 Don highway not only comfortable, but also interesting. This is the main artery connecting the capitals and the south of Russia,” said Irina Andrianova. – In its vicinity there are many objects of interest to tourists and we intend to “open” them for all travelers. In our future plans – to fill the mobile application of the company “Horizons of Russia: Come with us!” a kind of “electronic guides” in the regions of the North Caucasus, the vicinity of Lake Ladoga, the Chuisky tract in Altai, the “Golden Ring” in Central Russia, along Lake Baikal and along the M1 “Belarus” highway, Andrianova shared her ideas.