Russia - Murmansk Region

It is necessary to have sustainable cooperation between state structures, business, public organizations and the system of professional education (secondary and higher). The role of regional authorities and regional organizations in the tourism development in the Barents Region and in the Murmansk Region has been identified following:

"The main task (of govermental authorities) is not to hinder entrepreneurs, to support them with methodical materials, ... unite all the stakeholders"

"Regional organizations should become mediators between entrepreneurs and authorities.."

"It is necessary to combine efforts of all organizations. Someone carries out research, someone establishes partnerships, someone forms, organizes tourism products,.. together this can give positive results"

There is no sustainable partnerships among regional authorities and tourism-related enterprises and organizations; public organizations and the system of secondary and higher vocational education. This resulted in: the low level of information among business and authorities representative about establishment s and directions of vocational training of tourism and hotel business staff. Representatives of public managing structures don't have any ideas about specialists and their need in the labour market.

There is no dialogue among educational establishments and and employers. Interaction with business is realized through organization of student practices and single invitations of tourism companies' representatives as lectures. There is no regular connections between educational establishments and employers. Interaction has accidental individual character. Cooperation with the Ministry of education is realized, to a bigger extent, by collecting statistical data about employment of graduates. Thus it is necessary to create common organizational body, including representatives of above mentioned organizations. It is necessary to spread information about the best practices of cooperation in the sphere of tourism.

"Our entrepreneurs lack knowledge, skills and marketing, they cannot present themselves."
"We need help not in arranging activities, but in propaganda of our opportunities."
"We would like to learn details. We learn from mistakes. We would like to get information about how to do it better."

Because of absence of system of sustainable interaction among all tourism stakeholders and taking into consideration the needs of tourism organizations in developing tourism products, it is necessary to increase access to vocational information through translation of the best practices of cooperation in the sphere of cooperation.

For this purpose it is better

to use the best practices as objects of analytical research while training specialists in the system of secondary and higher vocational education
to arrange annual scientific and practice seminars and conferences and attract tourism practitioner
to develop the system of short-time courses, training, master-classes in the Barents Region