The reformed Ski Industry Union was presented to the market participants at the International Sports Forum “Russia — Country of Sports” within the round table “Arrangement of Conditions for Integrated Development of Ski Industry in Russia”. The representatives of the Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts, Nonprofit Organization Ski Industry Union, Russian Alpine Ski and Snowboard Federation, ANO Forum – Country of Sports and the heads of ski resorts became the participants of this event. They were presented the new leadership of the Nonprofit Organization and the primary tasks to be considered by renewed community.

‘In order to establish an integrated approach to solving the key tasks we plan to start elaboration of a long-term strategy for development of ski industry in Russia, a policy document which will fix certain targeted indicators for each area of activities and the deadlines for their achievement. We will try to approve this document at the level of the Russian Government,’ said Vladislav Subbotin, the Executive Director of the Ski Industry Union, a representative of the company Northern Caucasus Resorts. ‘At the same time, in cooperation with the Northern Caucasus Resorts we have already started the work on the market analysis of ski tourism in Russia. Within the study the statistical analysis of ski resorts will be conducted, their common list will be made and the portrait of audiences according to key criteria will be summed up. The main problems of the owners and operating organizations will be described, actual and potential demand for the services of the Russian ski resorts will be compared, an assessment of the target audience’s loyalty to the Russian ski resorts and its financial solvency will be made, as well as many other things,’ he added.

Besides, according to the expert, the work on examination of industry-specific legislation and consolidation of existing materials containing the proposals for improving the regulating legal acts is being started. ‘In this sphere we are planning first of all to focus on development of measures of state support for investors and operating organizations, the Russian producers of goods and services. Here we can speak about subsidy assistance or reduction of interest rates for obtained loans, decrease of custom duties, lowering of rental rates and granting tax exemptions. We have experience in this direction within implementation of our tourism project in the North Caucasus,’ told Vladislav Subbotin.

As Aleksey Stepanov, the Director General of ANO Forum – Country of Sports, noted, following the results of the Union’s reformation there are all preconditions for the organization’s projects to be realized. ‘A strong participant, the company Northern Caucasus Resorts, has started to work, and it will become the engine of many processes. On October 12 the plenary session will take place on which the recommendations of this round table will be reported to the Minister of Sports of Russia,’ he said.

According to Khasan Timizhev, the Director of the Expert Analysis Department of JSC NCR, who also has become a member of the Management Board of the Ski Industry Union, the interest in taking part in the Union’s work is displayed not only by the participants representing ski business but also by the members of the expert community, within arrangement of support for socially oriented projects. ‘Together with our partners we have provided testing of the modular program for physical education lessons based on mountain skiing at Arkhyz resort. It is impossible to pursue only one goal in the course of the work of resorts, i.e. to make profit. Social work of JSC NCR is “the third physical education lesson”, the Dream Ski Project, free ski passes for ten-year-old children - all this is our investments in the future,’ he said.

‘The most eye-catching lessons based on ski mountaineering for children took place at Arkhyz resort with strong support of JSC NCR. The project proved that it has the right to be continued, but the organizational matters shall be also solved in other regions similar to the way it was done in the Karachay-Cherkessia,’ noted Sergey Kondratiev, the Executive Director of SportAkademReklama. According to him, the Ski Industry Union shall also become involved in solving the task on creating the regulatory framework assisting the educational institution to back up additional education for children. ‘We hope that during 2017 we can find a solution to this problem in cooperation with the relevant agencies,’ added the expert.

Tamara Prygunova, the Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Alpine Ski and Snowboard Federation, told the participants of the round table about the measures to support sports which the organization implements throughout the country, and reported on the growth of ski mountaineering popularity in Russia. "In comparison with 2012, according to the statistics, a significant growth is observed. For example, there are 121 ski mountaineering divisions working in the country, and this is 20% more than in 2012”, she said.

Following the results of the round table there have been accepted recommendations which will be presented to the participants of the Forum “Russia — Country of Sports” and to the Ministry of Sports of Russia at the plenary session of the Forum, and the agreements have been achieved for primary summarizing the work in a renewed format at the Congress of Winter Sports which is arranged at the territory of Russia every year.