OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2009. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Karelia together with the Provincial board of Oulu, Administration of Sortavala metropolitan region has held the Safety of Tourism international seminar in Sortavala.

The key issues considered at the seminar were safety on roads of Karelia and prevention of road and transport incidents with participation of guests of the republic.

It was is no coincidence that the town of Sortavala was chosen to be the venue of the seminar. Through Northern Ladoga Lakeside being the second important tourist center of Karelia there goes a flow of tourists both from Finland, and from St.-Petersburg. According to the motor licensing and inspection department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Karelia every seventh road accident on roads of the republic occurs at participation or of visitors or is caused by them. And their share in road and transport incidents during the last 3 years is growing annually having reached 15% in 2009.

Opened work of the seminar Head of Sortavala metropolitan region Alexander Sokolov has emphasized special importance of the issue of safety in the sphere of tourism for formation of positive image of the territory which since recently has been positioning itself as one of the famous tourist destinations in the Northwest of Russia.

Deputy chief of motor licensing and inspection department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Karelia Evgeny Putilin has noted, that the task of his department is not only maintenance of traffic safety control, but also creation of conditions for reduction of road and transport incidents which are mainly caused by fatigu, infringement of the schedule of work and rest, seming impunity, unsatisfactory road conditions. In solution of these tasks it is difficult to overestimate importance of Finnish experience concerning traffic safety, carrying out of field rescue activities, interdepartmental cooperation and educational work on preventive maintenance of road accidents, introduction of new traffic control techniques and technologies. These issues have been in detail covered in the statements of Tapio Saavalainen, adviser of the Governor of Oulu, Raimo Kaikkonen, scheduler of road maintenance of the district of Savo-Karjala, Jarmo Puustinen, senior commissioner of mobile police of Finland, Hannu Mylly, chief of the Rescue Service of Kainuu.

Heads of Official bodies Karelian Search and Rescue Service and Specialized fire brigade on suppression of large fires of the Federal fire service in the Republic of Karelia Valery Cherechukin and Dmitry Shirlin have shared experience of rescue activity and interdepartmental cooperation on rectification of the consequences of road accidents in the Republic of Karelia. Representative of the Ministry of Construction of the RK Dmitry Kondrashin has told about implementation of measures on development of the network of roads and increase of traffic safety in the republic on the basis of program-target method. Statement of the executive director of Assistance to Safety of Travellers autonomous non-profit-making organization Igor Afonin (Petrozavodsk) was devoted to the activity of teaching to render first aid to victims of road accidents.

Summing up the seminar, chief of the department of tourism of the Ministry of Economic Development of the RK Vladimir Gromov has pointed out a number of specific proposals directed on perfection of work on safety travelling on roads of Karelia in view of the Finnish experience.

The Safety of Tourism seminar has became a successful final action of the international project on safety in the sphere of the tourism implemented from 2007 to 2009 in common by the Province Oulu and the Republic of Karelia in territories of metropolitan regions and urban districts of the republic. Within the scope of the project there have been studied various aspects of tourism safety, including prevention of fires in places of group quartering and prevention of accidents at organization of water and winter adventure of tourism, such as rafting, kayaking, yachting, and snowmobile safaris.