Economist Koltashov: «Accessibility of information is important for tourists from other countries»
The English language, in which the road signs in the Altai Republic are duplicated, will be replaced with Altai. This was announced by local officials. Meanwhile, the leading region in terms of the growth of tourist flow was Altai, where not only travelers from Russia, but also tourists from other countries go. Of course, it is necessary to preserve the historical spirit of such unique places, but from an economic point of view, it is clearly impossible to do without signs in international English to eliminate language barriers.
The authorities of the Altai Republic are considering «removing» the English language from signs in the region. Instead of convenient tourist markings in Russian, English and, possibly, Chinese, officials want to hang signs with inscriptions in the Altai language.
According to local officials, this will restore justice, and it will be useful for guests of the region to immerse themselves in the linguistic culture of the republic.
Let us recall that Altai has become the leading region in terms of the growth dynamics of tourist flow. This was reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin by the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
“Altai is showing outstanding results this year, including due to the fact that Manzherok has been launched, on the other hand, there is Turquoise Katun in the Altai Territory — a special economic zone, many facilities are being introduced there. The airport is currently being developed — that is, this is a new, very powerful point on the map of our country. Altai has always been attractive, it's just that now comfort has been added — and explosive growth has begun,” the minister told the head of state.
Reshetnikov also noted that the Chuysky tract has been put in order, now all residents of Siberia are flocking there. Foreign tourists are also starting to come to Altai, who use the international language — English — for communication.
“Domestic tourism in Russia is rapidly developing, and foreigners are also coming to us. It is very important that the environment is attractive to them, which includes the availability of information,” notes economist Vasily Koltashov.
Earlier, during a visit to Gorno-Altaisk, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called for preserving the historical spirit of the places where infrastructure is being created.
The head of the Cabinet believes that the infrastructure being created in the region should not be typical, but individual for a specific place. In this case, local residents and their families will be able to remember the nature of Altai as their grandparents knew it.
“Because roots are a very important component for everyone who lives here,” Mishustin emphasized.
Apparently, the local authorities took the words about “preserving the historical spirit” too literally. Despite the fact that, according to preliminary data, in just 3-4 years, foreign tourists will arrive in the republic in the amount of about 250 thousand people (about 150 thousand from China, the rest from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other countries), they decided not to duplicate the inscriptions on the road signs in English, but to translate them into Altai, which is unknown to foreign travelers (and many local residents). Let us emphasize that, according to the 2020 census, only 68,700 people indicated Altai as their native language.
“Altai is interesting not only for domestic tourists. And it would be necessary to increase the flow of foreign travelers. English is more useful for this. It is economically feasible,” concluded Vasily Koltashov.