A Minute From Kostroma to Moscow: VR Lets Visitors Explore the Capital Anytime
Visitors in Kostroma can now step into Moscow without leaving the Volga River embankment. A mobile tourism center called "Moskva" (Moscow) lets people take a virtual reality tour of Russia's capital or build a personalized weekend itinerary before making the trip in person.
The mobile tourism center in Kostroma is part of a broader tour across cities along Russia's Golden Ring. Residents of other regions will also have an opportunity to experience the traveling "Moskva" center.
Traveling the Golden Ring
In March 2026, Moscow and seven Russian regions signed an agreement to jointly develop the "Zolotoye koltso" (Golden Ring) tourist route. The initiative marks the 60th anniversary of one of Russia's best-known travel itineraries, which remains among the country's most popular destinations. The mobile "Moskva" centers are part of this broader effort to promote domestic tourism and increase interest in the Golden Ring cities.
The mobile center debuted at the International Travel Forum "Puteshestvuy!" (Travel!) at VDNKh before continuing to Sergiev Posad and Yaroslavl. It has now arrived in Kostroma, with Suzdal, Vladimir, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, and Ivanovo next on the itinerary.
The mobile center offers a virtual walk through Moscow, introduces visitors to the city's attractions, and helps them create personalized travel plans. The interactive experience goes beyond a VR tour of Moscow. Visitors in Kostroma also took part in a linocut printmaking workshop led by Yaroslavl calligrapher and artist Aleksandr Abrosimov. He introduced participants to the fundamentals of hand-printing techniques, in which an image is carved into a printing surface before being transferred onto paper.
VR Becomes a Tourism Showcase
In recent years, Russia has placed growing emphasis on expanding domestic tourism. Government initiatives have supported new travel routes while investing in tourism infrastructure. A major priority has been the digitalization of travel services and the use of modern technologies to improve the visitor experience.
In particular, VR is increasingly being used not only as a tourism attraction in its own right but also as a promotional tool that lets potential travelers preview destinations before planning an actual trip. The mobile "Moskva" tourism center is a clear example of that approach.
"We want to increase visitor numbers through educational, historical, pilgrimage, culinary, and patriotic tourism. There is still a great deal of work ahead. Most importantly, I encourage everyone involved to work as one team," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said while commenting on the agreement to develop the Golden Ring route.
The project gives visitors an interactive way to explore Moscow while providing ready-made travel recommendations. For Kostroma and the other Golden Ring cities, traveling tourism centers like this could become a shared promotional platform. Moscow showcases its attractions in the regions, while participating regional cities benefit from greater visitor traffic through the joint tourism program.
One Platform, Two Goals
The mobile tourism center in Kostroma is both a marketing initiative and an educational project that combines tourism, culture, and digital technology. It strengthens Moscow's position as a travel destination while promoting the Golden Ring route.
The mobile center serves as a digital travel showroom where visitors can do more than explore attractions. They can also receive personalized itineraries along with information about transportation, hotels, tickets, and local events. The next step could be integrating VR with artificial intelligence capable of building customized travel plans based on a visitor's age, budget, family composition, and personal interests.
The technology shows strong potential as a tool for promoting regional tourism and cultural heritage. It also offers a way to engage younger audiences and encourage them to turn virtual exploration into real-world travel.
