Kirov's tourism collapse

      It should be noted at the outset that a potential traveler has two resources right away:

      the Center for Tourism Development of the Kirov Region (from the Ministry of Sport and Tourism),

      and the Tourist Portal of the Kirov Region (from the Directorate for Event Organization).

      Which of them is responsible for tourism is a mystery. Interestingly, Ruslan Mamedov is still listed as the Center’s director — the very man whose trial began on September 30.

      One way or another, it turned out to be difficult to find differences between the websites. The “Tour Routes” tabs are almost identical (the Center has three more). Only the quality of the presentation differs. It gives the impression that there was supposed to be one portal, but by accident there ended up being two. The content has simply been scattered: the route names match, but in some places there are cards, and in others a continuous wall of text.

      If that can still be tolerated, the visual side is just depressing. Few photos, and a strong sense of tiredness and obsolescence. And visuals decide everything in tourism — the eyes travel too.

      “Romantic Vyatka” without romance

      Imagine a couple of tourists who decided to spend a weekend in Kirov. They open the Center for Tourism Development’s website and choose a route enticingly named “Romantic Vyatka.” In their heads — walks under lamplight, cozy streets, the atmosphere of an old town.

      But reality breaks the script... The tourist sees the route description “Vyatka — a city where amazing romantic stories happened” and six points connected with famous personalities. One of them is a monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky. Judging by the description, tourists are invited to read on the site about his unhappy love for Margarita Nikolaeva. Love is, of course, a revolutionary affair — but not in that sense.

      The route isn’t built

      Opening the site and going to walk the route is almost impossible. The portal creators failed to make a clear and user-friendly interface. If you suddenly want to find a guide or a tour operator (they only exist on the Center’s site), you’ll have to click dozens of times to reach the needed information. And in the end — boring text and a couple of links to social media.

      And a logical question arises: why are these sites needed if it’s easier to type “tours Kirov” into a search engine and follow the first decent link? There you have it all: routes, contacts, booking forms, addresses. Yes, mostly paid. But at least it works.

      Tourism that isn’t there

      A tourist who lands on the Center’s portal will most likely not bother to go past the first page. The interface is off-putting. In an era when even schoolchildren do UX/UI design, such carelessness looks like contempt for the user.

      Tourism is not routes and monuments. It’s the impression of a region. And as long as the Kirov Region’s sites look as if they were made on a bet, the impression remains the same: don’t come until they fix things (neither the sites nor the city).

      Recall that earlier we traveled along one of the suggested routes. You can view and read about it here.