Chukotka to Host Bering Strait International Festival on 2–7 August

The Bering Strait International Festival will take place in Chukotka on 2–7 August as part of the main events of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023, which are being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. The festival programme includes the ‘Arctic Travellers’ Forum’ business programme, the Bering Games sports competitions, and an expedition around the region. The events held under the umbrella of the festival brand will also be dedicated to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which is celebrated on 9 August.

The Bering Strait International Festival will kick off with the ‘Arctic Travellers’ Forum’ business programme. Chukotka will host professional tour operators and hospitality experts from all over the Russian Arctic. The discussion participants will look at key industry trends, best practices in organizing Arctic travel, and successful cases in promoting the regions of the Far North. Arctic Portal Director Halldor Johansson (Iceland) will speak about the preferences of foreign tourists. The forum will also focus on the sustainable development of tourism in the Arctic, the creation of new infrastructure, the branding of territories, and the promotion of tours. During one of the discussions in Anadyr, popular travel bloggers who have made more than a dozen interesting expeditions around the Arctic, Bogdan Bulychev, Alexey Zhirukhin, Albert Sokolov, and Stanislav Koryakin, will meet and exchange views with the Forum participants.

The festival’s sports programme includes the Bering Games competitions among representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, in which representatives of all Russia’s Arctic regions will take part. Some 50 people will determine which of them are the strongest in seven northern sport disciplines, including triple jumps, stick pull and one-foot high kicks. The competitions aim to involve people living in Russia’s Arctic zone in regular physical education and sports, promote the traditional sports disciplines of Indigenous peoples, as well as strengthen ties between Russia’s Arctic regions.

As part of the festival, the Chukotsky District village of Lorino in the Chukotka Autonomous District will host the Beringia Regatta of Sea Hunters, during which team races will be held on traditional Chukotka canoes among men’s and women’s teams, as well as festive events dedicated to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

One major event of the Bering Strait Festival will be an expedition around Chukotka, which aims to highlight tourist attractions in Chukotka. The festival will conclude at Cape Dezhnev, the extreme eastern mainland point of Eurasia, where the expedition members will plant the flags of the Festival.

“Travel and sports bring people together. Today, the Chukotka Autonomous District is a major attraction for guests from other regions of our country. We expect that at the Bering Strait International Festival tourism industry professionals will have an opportunity to share their experiences and explore new trends in the development of Arctic tourism. Our entrepreneurs are developing tourism infrastructure and a network of routes in the region. With the Festival’s help, we plan to tell everyone who is interested in unique tours in the Russian Arctic about this, while Chukotka’s amazing natural beauty will impress everyone!”, Chukotka Autonomous District Governor Roman Kopin said.

The Festival is being organized by the Government of the Chukotka Autonomous District and the Russian Tourism Agency.

As part of its chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023, Russia is devoting considerable attention to the development of sustainable tourism in the Arctic to promote the progressive socioeconomic development of the Arctic regions, support small and medium-sized businesses in high latitudes, and also preserve and enhance the cultural heritage of the Indigenous peoples of the North.

The events of the Bering Strait Festival’s business programme will be broadcast on the official website of Russia’s chairmanship: https://arctic-council-russia.ru/events/arkticheskiy-turizm/mezhdunarodnyy-festival-beringov-proliv/ and on the Festival’s official website https://beringstrait.ru.

Reference information:

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