Translated with AI
A meeting of the expert group to finalize and approve the draft Regulation on the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Project "Thematic Year in the Commonwealth Tourism Sector" was held on December 18, 2025, at the CIS headquarters. Experts from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, participated via videoconference. This was reported by the CIS Executive Committee's press service.
Opening the meeting, Alexey Sazonov, Director of the Department for Cooperation in Political, Humanitarian, and Social Spheres of the CIS Executive Committee, noted that the initiative to declare themed years in CIS tourism came from the Russian Federation. This initiative was discussed at a meeting of the CIS Tourism Council, which approved the draft Regulation on the themed year proposed by the Russian side.
"The draft document envisages the introduction of the practice of annually declaring a theme year in the CIS tourism sector. According to the developers, this will take the development of tourism cooperation among CIS countries to a new level and will also become an effective way to draw attention to the potential of a particular tourism destination," emphasized Alexey Sazonov.
He reported that, as a pilot project, the Council declared 2025–2026 the Years of Mountain Tourism in the Commonwealth. Following the results of the current year, experts noted the successful promotion of this topic at various international tourism venues in the CIS. New recommendations for the development of mountain tourism were developed and prospects for its further development were outlined, which contributed to attracting attention to this type of recreation.
"The draft Regulation stipulates that the theme for the year will be nominated by a CIS member state for the calendar year during its chairmanship of the Tourism Council. The theme year will be implemented in accordance with the Action Plan. Therefore, the proposed draft Regulation will establish a unified procedure for nominating, announcing, and implementing theme years in the Commonwealth's tourism sector," explained Alexey Sazonov.
During the meeting, the draft Regulation on the thematic year was finalized, which will subsequently be submitted for domestic approval and then submitted for consideration by the CIS Council of Heads of Government in accordance with established procedure.
