Students and professors of the HSE Graduate School of Business form a culture of sustainable tourism in Russia
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The aim of the conference was to create an expert platform for sharing experience, presenting new ideas and developing effective practices aimed at sustainable development in the tourism industry. Speakers included representatives of leading Russian hotels and resorts that are actively implementing sustainable development practices: Krasnaya Polyana Resort, Tasigo Hotel (Kazan), Mriya Resort & SPA (Yalta), top management of Michelin-starred restaurants with zero-waste concept, tour operators, travel marketing experts and other areas that are already operating under the new rules.
Yulia Frolova
2nd year student of the GSB Master's programme “Sustainable Development Management of the Company”.
“These days, almost everyone comes into contact with the travel industry in one way or another. It is crucial that this interaction not only gives impressions and emotions to the traveller, but is also respectful of the environment and local communities. Sustainable tourism is our future. It is a new way of creating hotels, organising travel and excursions. That's why the aim of our event was to bring together experts in the industry and inspire them to implement sustainable practices by showing their benefits. I think we succeeded! I’m grateful to the GSB professors for their support in this important event”, — thanked Yulia Frolova, a 2nd year student of the GSB Master's programme “Sustainable Development Management of the Company”.
The experts emphasised that changes in business are closely linked to changes in the mindset of entrepreneurs. Ekaterina Ivanova and Yulia Nemtseva, leading lecturers of the Master's programme “Sustainable Company Development Management”, played an important role in this direction. Ekaterina Ivanova, Associate Professor at the GSB Department of Strategic and International Business, held a master class on “Leadership Mindset for Sustainable Development”. The listeners saw simple steps on the way to becoming a responsible leader, and also analysed the best examples of implemented initiatives from various fields. The participants noted that the conference was very inspiring — many of them are ready to implement the new approaches outlined by the experts in their activities.
Associate Professor at the Department of Strategic and International Management at the GSB
“Sustainable development starts with a way of thinking. This was the focus of an interactive masterclass with the participants of the forum on sustainable tourism. One of the participants admitted at the end of the event that she realised that she already possesses all the key competences of a responsible tourism business leader, including understanding the challenges of ecosystems and society, a systemic worldview, and a developed emotional and spiritual intelligence. But it is especially pleasant that one of the forum’s organisers on forming a culture of sustainable tourism in our country was a second-year student of our profile Master's programme, Yulia Frolova. This is a worthy example of how the sustainable development agenda finds its practical application,” said Ekaterina Ivanova, Associate Professor at the Department of Strategic and International Management at the GSB.
The conference participants also took part in the master class “Equal Opportunities: 7 Arguments in favour of Inclusive Business”, organised by Yulia Nemtseva, a guest lecturer at the HSE Graduate School of Business. At the masterclass, participants learnt why it is important to integrate DEI principles into their tourism products and follow them in everyday life.
Yulia Nemtseva
A visiting lecturer at the GSB
“Inclusive tourism literally opens up a whole new world. When a business embraces different social groups of travellers, regardless of their identities and characteristics, there is an opportunity to attract a wider range of tourists. After all, inclusive tourism is about reducing uncertainty about what to expect from a holiday destination or service. It's about creating an environment where all people feel included. It allows them to stay with you and have new experiences together,” said Yulia Nemtseva, a visiting lecturer at the GSB.
According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts while meeting the needs of tourists, the tourism industry, the environment and host communities. Over the three days, participants explored effective sustainable practices in tourism and worked with the speakers to find solutions to their own professional needs.