The first national tourist portal of South Ossetia was presented in Tskhinval, designed to attract the attention of travelers to the beauty and uniqueness of the Republic.
The event was attended by the leadership of the Republic, representatives of various departments, the Russian Embassy, etc.
The presentation began with a promotional video demonstrating the tourism potential of South Ossetia.
Minister of Economic Development Sarmat Kotaev noted the importance of opening the portal for the formation and development of the Republic's tourism sector.
"The tourist image of South Ossetia has suffered greatly due to the military conflict. Unfortunately, when searching for information about our country on the Internet, many depressing photos and videos appear, which negatively affect the tourist attractiveness of the Republic. Forming a positive image is a priority for the tourism industry," the Minister said.
He has added that it is doubly important for the Republic, so the Ministry set the task of creating a positive image of South Ossetia, and the first step in this area was the creation of the national tourism portal.
Kotaev expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Republic of South Ossetia, represented by President Alan Gagloev, for supporting the initiative to create a tourism portal, and to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dzambolat Tadtaev.
According to Deputy Minister of Economic Development Albert Tekhov, the portal is designed to promote the development of the Republic's tourism potential by creating a positive image. The Ministry began working on it in early 2023.
"The process began with collecting the information about the cultural, historical and natural attraction of South Ossetia. Videographers with different work styles were involved in creating the high-quality visual content. Filming lasted about six months. The choice of some locations for filming was due to their popularity among the tourists, while the others attracted attention due to their unknown nature," he has shared.
A total of 28 locations were filmed, from which more than 30 videos in different formats were created.
Tekhov thanked the Republic's leadership for the support provided and the employees of the tourism department for the work done.
Anna Kokoeva, adviser to the tourism department, spoke about the capabilities of the portal and planned innovations.
"The site consists of 10 main parts, 6 of which are dedicated to useful information for guests of the Republic. With the help of a tourist memo, guests will be able to prepare for their visit to South Ossetia, familiarize themselves with the rules of entry, more convenient logistics methods, etc. The site has three routes developed by the tourism department - a trip along the Urs-Tualsky gorge, acquaintance with the Znaur district and a trip to Tskhinval - one of the oldest capitals of the Caucasus," she said.
As emphasized by Kokoeva, the developed routes are one-day and are designed for independent exploration of the Republic by car. The list of these tours will be updated. The portal page also has sections on cuisine and culture, where tourists can learn about the customs and traditions of the Ossetian people. In addition, the site will soon be available in English.
Prime Minister Konstantin Dzhussoev thanked everyone involved in the creation of the portal.
"Naturally, these are the first steps in the development of our tourism industry. The government is interested in the development of tourism. We are also developing several projects that we plan to implement within the framework of the preferential lending program, for example, tourist bases," the head of the Cabinet said.
The tour guides, who were also present at the presentation, voiced their proposals for filling the portal, including the placement of guides' contacts.
In the future, it is planned to fill the portal with photos and videos, create audio guides for routes and a mobile application for the tourist portal.
