Altay community discussing gaming zone project
The round-table discussion “The gaming zone and the international image of Altay” took place in Barnaul. Chairman of Steering Committee, Yuriy Tchernyshov, a professor of Altay State University, told the IA REGNUM`s reporter about the results of the discussion with the participation of scientists, gaming and tourism business representatives, public and political activists and journalists.
He says the participants of the round table were supposed to answer the questions: how far the gaming zone project complies with the established image and mentality of Altay population, what pros and contras for the regional development may be brought in by “Altay Las Vegas” and how the public control over the gaming zone operations shall be secured.
Alexey Betmakaev, a dean of Altay State University, informed the people present about the international experience in this area. A photopresentation of the major world gaming zones was made: Monte Carlo, Las Vegas. Atlantic City and Macao; in addition, they showed a scheme of placement of the proposed gaming zone in Smolenslki district of Altay region.
Alexey Prokoshin, President of Gambling Operators` Association, spoke about its foundation. The association includes gambling operators from Altay, Novosibirsk and Moscow. They estimate that within the zone there may appear a city equal to Biysk in population. Construction works will involve up to 20 thousand people, which will give a push to the regional construction industry development.
An optimistic forecast was also expressed by Gennadiy Malkin, head of the “Dom” real estate agency. Referring to the experience of Las Vegas studied by him, he emphasized that gambling should be combined with arranging resorts for people of moderate means. Besides, it is necessary to work on the image of the region to attract tourists with a kind of zest.
President of Altay Regional Tourism Association, Elena Shushakova, agreed that the gaming zone would dramatically reduce the number of potential consumers. Moreover, the development of tourism is restrained by the low service level and the lack of qualified local staff. It may happen that the zone will be there only for a few rich visitors.
Alexander Redkin, Dean of Faculty of Geography in Altay State University, stated that the management decision on setting up the gaming zone had been made correctly, but it was still not supported by human resources. In particular, it needs target training of specialists in the sphere of social and cultural service and tourism. In addition, the zone is likely to be visited by foreign tourists, and it shall be taken into account while teaching students to become international specialists.
Summarizing the discussion, Professor Tchernyshov suggested making a Public Supervisory Committee to follow the implementation of projects related to the tourism and recreation and gaming zones. “These projects may result in too serious consequences for the region to implement them backstage, without transparence and public participation. This suggestion has been unanimously supported by all the people present”, declared Professor.
IA REGNUM