Dmitry Chernyshenko Presents the 2025 Government Awards in Tourism

Dmitry Chernyshenko Presents the 2025 Government Awards in Tourism

11 March 2026

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko presented the Government Awards in Tourism [annual prizes recognizing outstanding projects in Russia's tourism sector] for 2025. The ceremony took place at the House of the Government [the official seat of the Russian Government in Moscow]. The list of winners was approved by a Government Order signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The awards were presented within the framework of the national project "Tourism and Hospitality" [a state-funded initiative to develop Russia's domestic and inbound tourism industry]. In 2025, more than 130 projects were submitted for consideration by the Awards Council. Ten projects across eight categories were selected as winners, with 31 authors receiving prizes. Winning projects receive diplomas and cash prizes of 1 million rubles each.

The winning entries include initiatives to develop domestic and inbound tourism, travel programs for veterans of the special military operation and their families, programs for people with disabilities, a project to develop industrial tourism [tourism centered on visits to factories, manufacturing sites, and industrial heritage], as well as innovative and educational initiatives.

"President Vladimir Putin has given us clear direction, and we keep it in mind. He set the task of making tourism accessible to all categories of our citizens. The head of state has repeatedly emphasized that Russia has unlimited potential for this. The Government, together with the Ministry of Economic Development, is creating all the necessary conditions for the development of tourism. We can see how the industry is responding to the support measures. Since the national project 'Tourism and Hospitality' was launched at the President's instruction, we have seen record growth among all sectors of our country's economy. Perhaps only fintech can match the growth rates that tourism is showing," said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The Deputy Prime Minister also recognized the contribution of the award participants to the development of domestic tourism: "Your outstanding projects are a fine example of how one can develop remarkable initiatives effectively and with love for one's homeland, its nature and landmarks — initiatives that serve as a model for everyone else. Today's recognition is vivid confirmation that your projects delivered results. Competition is extraordinarily intense, and it takes effort and dedication to realize the enormous potential that our country holds across all its climate zones."

2025 was declared by the head of state the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland [an honorary designation marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War and recognizing the country's military heritage]. The Deputy Prime Minister offered special thanks for projects aimed at participants of the special military operation and residents of the new regions [the four Ukrainian oblasts — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — formally annexed by Russia in 2022]. In closing, he invited award nominees to participate in the international forum "Travel!" [Puteshestvuy!], to be held at VDNKh [a major exhibition and leisure complex in Moscow] from 10 to 14 June.

"We are consistently fulfilling the President's instruction to build a modern tourism framework for the country. The priority in this work is family-oriented, accessible recreation — and that is exactly what the laureates' projects focus on. We face the task of comprehensive infrastructure development, from hotels and year-round resorts to amusement parks. I am confident that the synergy of government investment and fresh entrepreneurial ideas, which we support through this award, will bring Russian tourism to a qualitatively new level — making it ever more attractive both for our own travelers and for visitors from abroad," said Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.

The award laureates were also congratulated by Sangadji Tarbaev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Tourism and the Development of Tourist Infrastructure, and Dmitry Vakhrukоv, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.

2025 Award Laureates:

1. The socially oriented patriotic rail tourism project "We Don't Leave Our Own Behind!" in the category "Best Project for the Development of Social Tourism."

2. "Active Tourism for People with Disabilities" in the category "Best Project for the Development of Social Tourism."

3. "Feel Dagestan" in the category "Best Project for the Development of Social Tourism."

4. "Tourism: A Journey 300 Years Long" in the category "Best Project for the Promotion of Tourist Products of the Russian Federation Aimed at Popularizing Domestic and International Tourism (promotion of a region's tourist resources, guidebooks, websites, and similar materials)."

5. The project "Development of Industrial Tourism in the Regions of the Russian Federation" in the category "Best Project for the Development of Domestic and Inbound Tourism."

6. "An Integrated System of Continuous Personnel Training at the Russian International Academy of Tourism in Partnership with Major Tourism Industry Enterprises (JSC TsSTE [a state-affiliated tourism and excursion enterprise] (holding) and the Izmailovo Hotel Group [a large hotel complex in Moscow])" in the category "Best Project in the Field of Vocational Education in Tourism."

7. "Creating an Innovative Model for Promoting an Interregional Tourist Product: The Case of the 'Silver Necklace of Russia' Project" [a tourism route connecting historic cities of northwestern Russia] in the category "Best Innovative Project in Tourism."

8. "Best Family Hotel" in the category "Best Project for the Development of the Hotel Industry."

9. The investment project "Sanatorium of the 21st Century — Istochnik Zheleznovodsk" [a wellness resort development in Zheleznovodsk, a spa town in the Stavropol region] in the category "Best Investment Project for the Development of Tourism Industry Facilities."

10. The research paper "Regional Policy for Building Tourist Potential" in the category "Best Academic Research in the Field of Tourism."