The treasury is on the air

Under the call "Do not come to us!" Smolny continues to spend tens of millions on PR of the tourist attractiveness of St. Petersburg

Almost 80 million rubles were burned at the Christmas Festival of Fire (online format). Another 5.7 million was spent on introductory tours for nonresident journalists and bloggers - with placement in five -star hotels. From the city on the Neva, they returned not only with vivid impressions, but also with coronavirus.

See Petersburg and not die

“We reduce the tourist attractiveness of the city and tell the guests: do not come to us this year,” Vice-Governor Evgeny Elin said on December 3, commenting on a new package of hard restrictions .

On the same day, the Tourism Development Committee adopted the next group of journalists and bloggers who arrived on his order to get acquainted with the “complex of competitive advantages of St. Petersburg” and contribute to its promotion as a “world tourist center <...> through publishing materials about St. Petersburg of a positive nature”.

“... We will visit the Hermitages with Peterhofs during the day and have dinner in the best restaurants ... And we live in 5* Corinthia Grand Hotel on Nevsky,” Andrei Ivanov, a participant in the press tour of Cheboksary, boasted on December 4 on Facebook .

- I would say that this is the most exquisite way to catch coronavirus this winter,

If I had not been sure after certain events that this infection simply does not stick to me. ”

On December 8, Andrei still posted photos from the best restaurants of the Northern capital, praising the calf cheeks and breakfasts with champagne. And the 12th, already at home, stopped feeling taste and smells. He was ill with Covid, according to him, easily. He only regretted that, apparently, he infected a couple of fallen comrades. We could not find the final texts about the St. Petersburg trip on the publication where Andrei works. Maybe the post -shoe depression described by him in the social network affected: "The roof rides specifically, everything around seems stupid and meaningless."

There is no more sense in the press tour of the Tourism Development Committee itself at the height of the Pandemia, after new restrictions on mass, sports events, bus excursions, the work of catering establishments, museums and theaters. The Committee concluded a contract for the organization of an introductory trip for journalists worth 5.75 million - at that time, Petersburg retained the second place with a record number of cases per day (3179 people).

The press tours themselves-five-day, for five groups-were held from November 28 to December 7. They were supposed to take part in up to 50 journalists and bloggers from different regions (of which at least 10 from Moscow). According to the TK, from all journalists, according to the results of the trip, it was required to provide, according to the publication with a volume of 2000 signs, and each blogger - at least 10 posts with at least one photograph, and if with two or more, five posts are enough.

The performers of such nonsense work were ordered to place on single rooms in hotels, “located no further than 2.5 km from the palace square and a class of at least 5 stars” (the laid cost of the room with breakfast is 10.3 thousand). Another 5.2 thousand per day-for lunch-dinner of each participant in restaurants “with a rating of at least 4.5 in accordance with the classification of the Tripadvisor portal”, preferably panoramic, with views of the main attractions of St. Petersburg.

According to the TK, the press tour participants were selected on the basis of deep monitoring of the media and the recommendations of creative unions of journalists. For this monitoring, the selection of participants and the development of an unpretentious tour of the Tour Contractor (Moscow LLC Prof Mediagoup) received over 500 thousand rubles. However, not all publications that have gone along the results convince the best of the best Petersburg five -star hotels.

“ The building has the form of an ellipse, the creators of the complex wanted the Arena to be similar to the Colosseum. Visitors note that the atmosphere of comfort reigns inside the complex ”; “__Hockey is one of the most popular sports in modern St. Petersburg”; “Not only foreigners, but also residents of other regions of Russia come to admire the beauties of the northern capital of Russia” ; “The __v mandatory tourist set of the Northern capital is deservedly included in a visit to the State Hermitage,” the Moscow Pressure participant (the network edition of the “regions of Russia”, we retain the original spelling of the original).

The group also included representatives of large federal media - who, however, have their representative offices and correspondents in St. Petersburg, which allowed to save at least on placement.

The press tours for the press development of tourism has been spending for several years. But in 2015, it cost the city treasury 1.5 million, and in the coronavirus 2020-almost four times more. Although, reacting to criticism of insufficient support for city entrepreneurs in the context of a pandemic, Governor Alexander Beglov announced an acute lack of funds for the most necessary: ​​“The budget is cracking at all seams today! And we say here - this is necessary, this ... Yes, it is necessary, I agree completely. Tell me where to get the money, and I will give it right away. Raise the noise at the federal level, tell me-here the city does not have enough money, for equipment, for that, fifth to tenth. "

Fifth to tenth

But for some reason, the question of where to get the money is not worth it when it comes to entertainment in a wide foot, which is not a special interference and epidemiological restrictions. The lion's share of such events is ordered by the Tourism Development Committee. In the Unified Calendar of the events of St. Petersburg presented on the website of the department for 2020 festivals and holidays-50 pieces. Yes, a significant part of them has now been in online format. Which, however, did not affect the fat financing.

In the last days of August, under the governor's prophecies about the expected growth of statistics in Covid after the return of the townspeople from the summer holidays, the flowers (39.9 million) were held. The organizers announced that they were dedicated to doctors, heroically fighting in red zones. Having provided the doctors along with the presentation of magnificent bouquets with a new shaft of work: crowds of people, forgetting about the social distance and masks, were crowded behind the fences along the entire Nevsky Prospekt in order to stare at the columns of retro -automobiles and equestrian crews decorated with flower arrangements.

The contract for the festival of flowers concluded with the St. Petersburg public organization the support of the socially significant projects of the Alternative. It is not the first time that she gets orders of the Tourism Development Committee (often on a non -alternative basis, as the only applicant). A year earlier, for example, the Alternative received a contract for the “Light Festival in the fall of 2019” (39.5 million) and the contract for the “Light Festival in November 2019” (33.6 million). It’s not that the committee does not consider November the autumn month, the reasons for such a strange separation in the names of the procurement are completely different. The fact is that according to the law, state contracts for an amount of over 40 million are carried out through a state order committee. Probably, the desire to bypass this establishment and leads to the fact that the Committee on Tourism Development of Tourism Feminitis is the execution of one event for two orders, evaluating each in the amount of slightly less than 40 million.

And no matter what the festival it starts, the cost of the purchase ranges at 39 million.

The current Fire Festival was no exception. At the subordinate committee of the Internet resource, its full name is represented as the "Petrovsky Fire" Christmas Star "." And there were two purchases: one for the festival of fire , the other - the Petrovsky festival. " Each in the amount of 38.9 million. Both contracts are concluded with the same “alternative”, on one day - December 28. That is, when to a large-scale event (a multimedia program using 3D-mapping technologies, as well as fireworks, fiery and light shows at five city venues) remained 10 days.

According to the TK, the event is held within one day, its duration for the first purchase - at least 45 minutes, the second - 60. Similar last year's shows, which cost about the same, were shown within two days, lasting two hours. And you could see them live - unlike the current, in online format.

Where exactly the fireworks will be launched and the other games with fire and light would not be revealed in advance.

The birds are sorry. And money

The secret operation for current Christmas cost many Petersburgers and their pets. The stormy exchange of impressions turned into the Facebook community "Petrograd Diaspora" - Elagin Island turned out to be one of the five secret sites. There was something else to be alarmed on the approaches to him: from the type of accumulation of harsh Rosgvardists lined up along the embankment.

“The guard was like the Kremlin. The entire perimeter is cordoned off from the Ushakovskaya interchange, ”Konstantin Nabel appreciated. While he and other passers -by wondered what happened and for what reason the special operation, everything began to explode, rummage and blaze with lights.

“We accidentally hit this holiday of life, returned from training, decided, out of habit of walking in the park - and here it was ... we scared all the ducks. Babahahi, it seems to me, is not less than an hour, very “rich”, there were almost no people in the park. At least someone enjoyed a waste of such a bunch of money? " - Asks Alexander Golovachev.

“Beautifully - yes! But why? - Olga Salnikova is perplexed. - Well, or why they didn’t limit themselves to 20 volleys, and the rest of the money would spend on good deeds, and not in the air! They scared the park birds and protein, domestic and homeless cats and dogs ... The New Year was banned for the New Year, and when everyone was home, such a fireworks were arranged. All through the lamp ((”.

Elagin Island - a monument of nature of regional significance, a specially protected natural area (OOPT). Here, 144 species of birds are recorded, including visor. Of these, 23 species were listed in the Red Book of St. Petersburg, 31-in the Red Book of the Baltic region, 3 in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. In order to preserve historical landscape compositions and biological diversity, the regime of protected areas establishes tough prohibitions on all activities that do not meet the tasks of preserving this world and its balance. Including the use of open fire and motor boats is prohibited. The choice of such a unique place as a platform for a clock show with lights and roar, it seems, to put it mildly, strange.

“New” asked the Committee for Nature Management - whether the site for a fiery show agreed with them and whether the department’s specialists consider the arrangement of fireworks on the territory of the Parties.

“No, they didn’t agree on, but they are not obliged to do it,” explained Dmitry Myachkov-Zenkovich, head of the inspection service of the State Pedagogical University “Directorate of Special Territories”. -Because the holding of cultural events refers to the statutory activities of the Central Park of Culture and Rest ( the territory of Elagin island is in the use of the Central Bank.-Ed. ) . And the coordination of such measures was by default derived from the jurisdiction of our committee, when the Prosptor of Elagin Island ( in 2016 ) was created. But, according to our organitologists, in winter, fireworks can hardly be serious harm to the local birds. Rare species mentioned in the Elagin Island prototypet are migrating, not sedentary ones. For migratory, it is important to observe the restrictions established by the mode in periods of nesting, that is, in the summer - until July 15, and we are following this. And those birds that winter here are tolerant of urban noise. ”

Although, as Dmitry Petrovich admits, for any protected areas, including Elagin Island, a large -scale fireworks is not the most suitable undertaking. And no specialist will risk unequivocally asserting that such a prolonged finger did not result in absolutely no bad consequences for wildlife. In the committee, as the New ”Dmitry Myachkov-Zenkovich assured, now they intend to request from the Directorate of the Central Penacent Communition the list of events planned for this year in order to evaluate their relevance in the territory of the protected areas.

And the Tourism Development Committee triumphantly reported at the end of the holidays: the broadcast of the Christmas Festival of Fire collected over a million views, it was seen in 140 countries of the world.

Watch the fireworks on the screen of almost broken two hours is a specific pleasure. As well as observe how two young ladies are thrown with a plastic spoon on a sheet with a contour of the Pavlovsky palace and spread it with a spatula, and the result is projected onto the facade in kind. In the estimate, this part of the program-“Professional artists working in the DJITIL-Art genre (VR) and/or“ pop art ”with watercolors, gouache and other techniques, 2 people”-was estimated at 160 thousand.

The girls were cute and smiling, earned 80 thousand. - Well, okay, God with them.

The estimated (without manufacturing) three tents/mobile make -up artists is much more surprised at 360 thousand. Or “General concept of the event” for 568 thousand, with a separate position - “Creation of the original concept and script of the multimedia program” - 345 thousand for the Fire festival and another 345 thousand for the “original concept” of the Petrovsky festival (taking into account the fact that we are talking about one event on January 7). Or almost 0.5 million for the "cleaning of the territory" for one purchase and 0.6 million - by the second; Ensuring protection and security-twice 0.65 million another 0.5 million-“Services for the creation of a plan of the arrangement of technical equipment”.

And, finally, the main question is that if all this splendor can be enjoyed online, but in reality it is impossible, how does it work to achieve the goal in public procurement, that is, contributes to the attraction of tourists to St. Petersburg?