The Ministry of Economy has developed a concept for the development of automobile tourism until 2035

On behalf of the head of state, the Ministry of Economy has developed and will send to the Russian government a concept for the development of automobile tourism until 2035. The document, which Kommersant has reviewed, provides for the synchronization of the development of the main autotourist routes in the country with the plans of road workers, as well as the provision of tax preferences, subsidies and other benefits to businesses as part of the creation of infrastructure for autotourists. Representatives of the tourism industry supported the initiative, calling the development of campsites a key area. The Ministry of Economy, in turn, talks about the need to sharply expand the motorhome rental market. Experts insist on the need to separate roads to major tourist sites into a separate category and maintain them at the expense of the federal budget.

President Vladimir Putin instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to develop a concept for the development of autotourism in May 2023. The document is ready and will be presented to the government in the near future, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economy Dmitry Vakhrukov told Kommersant. “Autotourism is now developing chaotically and fragmentarily. There are separate programs for the repair and construction of roads and gas stations, but they are almost not tied to tourist sites,” explained Mr. Vakhrukov. “Roadside hotels are built, as a rule, in the interests of truck drivers and in places where there is the greatest traffic. The goal of the concept is to synchronize all these processes.”

The concept of “autotourism” is defined in GOST as “a type of travel in which the main means of transportation for a tourist is a personal car.” According to the Ministry of Economy and independent experts, 22–23 million motor tourists travel on roads in the Russian Federation annually; their potential number could reach, according to estimates of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, 42 million people. According to VTsIOM surveys, 39% of Russians have made tourist trips by car over the past five years. The development of the destination could bring the tourism industry an additional 250 billion rubles. per year, such forecasts were presented in June by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The text of the concept (“Kommersant” has read the text) begins with a description of current problems. According to VTsIOM surveys, 26% of motor tourists are not satisfied with the quality of roadside service. On many roads, respondents complain, there are not enough gas stations, parking lots, toilets, and motels. Meanwhile, in the Ural, Siberian, and Far Eastern districts there are few road service facilities due to the low investment attractiveness and high cost of their creation. According to the NAFI analytical center, 81% of travelers also complain about the poor quality of roads. The authors of the concept also mention the problem of low quality (or complete absence) of mobile communications on many sections of the route.

The document, which the government will consider at the beginning of the year, is designed in two stages. In 2024–2025, the authorities are going to develop a program for the development of autotourism with an action plan (already being prepared). Within its framework, the Ministry of Economy proposes, among other things, to develop measures of state support for business to create infrastructure for motor tourists, primarily multifunctional zones (MFZ, which combine a gas station, a restaurant, a store, a car wash, a hotel, a toilet, etc.). Currently, there are more than 180 MFZs operating on the federal roads of Rosavtodor, and about 100 MFZs on the toll roads of the Avtodor State Corporation.

Dmitry Vakhrukov talks about measures such as, for example, tax preferences, subsidies, and the provision of plots for rent at a preferential rate without tendering. However, first, the official believes, it is necessary to legislate the concepts of MFZ and road service facilities. The MFZ standards, he continues, will be different for different types of roads. It should be noted that Avtodor and the Moscow City Hall already have standard projects for such zones.

The Ministry of Economy also proposes to synchronize the development of main autotourist routes with the plans of road workers. Today, regional authorities are already repairing such roads (1.8 thousand km of sections at the end of the year). “Travelers bring added value, use the services of hotels, catering, and buy souvenirs,” explains Dmitry Vakhrukov. “We will justify this to the Ministry of Transport and the constituent entities.” The official added that the department plans to “negotiate with the Ministry of Digital Development in order to prioritize the development of road communications in the main tourist destinations.”

The Ministry of Transport could not be reached for comment yesterday. Let us remind you that the traffic police previously named the increase in the number of motor tourists as one of the reasons for the increase in the number of accidents in Russia in 2023.

At the second stage (2025–2035), the Ministry of Economy proposes to continue “improving the regulatory framework and state support measures” for the development of auto tourism, ensuring an increase in the network of tourist routes, and forming a “bank of land plots” where new recreation areas and road service facilities can be located .

The concept proposes that the subjects of the federation create parking lots at the main tourist sites, install navigation signs, and also determine “jeeping routes” and routes for auto expeditions on off-road vehicles. The Ministry of Economy calls the development of the motorhome rental market one of the urgent needs. “There is demand, but this service is not yet available to most, even in the form of rent, due to the high cost and the small number of market players,” explains Dmitry Vakhrukov. “Few companies offer a service where a motorhome can be rented in one city and left in another. It is necessary to create a network of parking lots where one could park a motorhome with a connection to the electrical network, sewerage, and water.”

MFZs today are built with great difficulty; there are almost none in the eastern part of the country, says Petr Shkumatov, coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement, since investors have to independently resolve issues of connecting to communications (electricity, gas) and access to the road network. This, Mr. Shkumatov believes, should be handled by the state, and business should focus on developing infrastructure at the site itself. The expert believes that roads to major tourist sites should be placed in a separate category and maintained at the expense of the federal budget.

“The concept turned out to be successful, this is an important document for the industry, but we believe that more attention should still be paid to the development of campsites – they should become a key direction in the development of autotourism,” adds Sergei Lobarev, head of the autotourism committee of the Russian Union of Travel Industry. “We need to create for them platforms, to provide communications, to put signs on the roads, now this is very little. It is necessary to develop and legislate classification and standards for campsites.”

Ivan Buranov