28 August 2003 10:35
Tourism still adrift on shores of Baikal
The tourists who flock each summer to admire the surreal beauty of Lake Baikal, the world\rquote s deepest lake, are
forced to cope with primitive amenities in the absence of the kind of infrastructure needed for civilized visits. \par
\'93Paradoxically, it\rquote s the foreign tourists who tend to come to Baikal,\'94 said Igor Kovalenko, head
of the Sputnik travel agency in the Irkutsk region. \par Some 50,000 foreign tourists come to Baikal every year, paying
some $1,000 to stay there for a week \endash a price much too steep for many Russians who prefer to spend their
vacations in Turkey. \par But Germans, Americans, Swiss, Belgians and Dutchmen are irresistibly drawn to this mysterious
and ever-changing lake, virtually off-limits to foreign tourists during Soviet times. \par For many, Baikal is not the
final destination but a staging post on their way to Mongolia or China. \par This year\rquote s outbreak of atypical
pneumonia, or SARS, in China predictably cut down the number of foreign visitors, much to the regret of local tourism
operators. \par But the lack of infrastructure is by far the biggest obstacle to the development of the tourist
industry, Kovalenko said. \par The overpriced hotels are often housed in gray, rundown buildings that have not seen a
lick of paint since the Soviet era. There are too few restaurants and too little local will to do justice to traditional
cuisine, delicious as it is. \par Three nature reserves and three national parks border the lake, and \'93there are
many bureaucratic obstacles to overcome in order to rent land and build tourist bases,\'94 said Ruslan Popov of the
base nestled on Olkhon Island in Baikal\rquote s heart. \par Many of the more beautiful sites are nearly impossible to
see as they are inaccessible by road and can only be approached by boat. \par However, ecologists and scientists have
warned against developing tourism in the region without due precautions. \par \'93In Sandy Bay, where there are
lots of tourists, some 15 kinds of endemic plants which exist nowhere else have now disappeared,\'94 lamented Elena
Grosheva, director of the local toxicology institute, warning of a \'93negative human impact\'94 on the
lake\rquote s fragile environment. \par \'93Baikal is a place where you meet nature. If one were to build huge
hotels here it would lose its charm,\'94 said Nikita Bencharov, who accommodates some 50 tourists in a little
village on Olkhon Island. \par But local authorities believe that unregulated camping causes much more damage to nature
than organized tourism ever could. \par According to Vladimir Melnikov, director of the Zabaikalsky national park on the
lake\rquote s southern shore, it is campers \'93who leave all their garbage behind\'94 and who cause the
biggest problems. \par However, eco-tourists who come \'93not only to admire the natural beauty but also to help
eliminate the waste left by other tourists\'94 would be welcome, he said. \par Tour operators and officials like
Kovalenko are not opposed to \'93infrastructure that would not negatively impact Baikal\rquote s
environment.\'94 \par For Kovalenko, the development of ecological tourism would help us to preserve the lake
environment and create jobs for the region\rquote s residents. \par \'93But for this we would need foreign
investment and government aid,\'94 he said.}{
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