Konstantin Chuychenko, Aide to the Russian President and Chief of the Control Directorate of the Presidential Executive Office, visited the Primorye Territory and chaired a working meeting on growing the local tourist industry. Meeting participants also discussed preparations for 2015 Tiger Day celebrations in Vladivostok.

Mr Chuychenko said this year’s festival should be even bigger and more vibrant. “We have been celebrating this holiday for a long time. Tiger Day received a new lease of life after the Amur Tiger Centre started helping organise the event. The city and the territory also added to the synergy. The President has called it the best environmental festival in Russia. To my mind, there is no need to drastically change its time-tested format which can only be improved,” he added.

Tiger Day, which received the status of official city holiday in 2001, is celebrated in Russia’s Far East on the last Sunday of September.

“We will continue to celebrate Tiger Day, which has already become the calling card of our region. So we are counting on your support, and, of course, we will also carry on with our work,” Primorye Territory Governor Vladimir Miklushevsky said.

About 10,000 people took part in the 2014 Tiger Day celebrations in Vladivostok.