July 10, 2021

Tourism for Tykes


Tourism for Tykes
A patriotic Russian kid. Flickr user Lyudmila Izmaylova

The Moscow Tourism Committee and Rostourism have joined forces to establish a youth tourism ambassador in every region of Russia. Twenty-five thousand teens aged 15-17 competed to be among the first round of ambassadors in the "Land of Discovery" initiative.

There were ten themes that participants could respond to in their exuberant TikTok video submissions from their regions: urban studies, humanitarian technologies, IT and telecommunications, transportation and space, biotechnology and biomedicine, ecology, energy, the creative industries, "science art," and "Russia through the eyes of children."

More than 265 million people have viewed the TikTok videos linked to this project. Submission instructions included videos to help teens learn how to edit video content and the basics of public speaking.

Now might seem like a good time to enhance domestic tourism – while foreign tourism is dangerous and more complicated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with cases running out of control in Moscow and St. Petersburg, maybe domestic tourism should stay on TikTok for now.

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