Editing Lake Baikal (section)

===Economy===
[[File:Fishermen in the Katun, Baikal.jpg|thumb|Baikal fishermen fish for 15 commercially used species. The [[omul]], found only in Baikal, accounts for most of the catch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalgreatlakes.org/baikal/ |title=Lake Baikal |work=Global Great Lakes |access-date=23 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227001822/http://www.globalgreatlakes.org/baikal/ |archive-date=27 February 2014  }}</ref>]]

The lake, nicknamed "the Pearl of Siberia", drew investors from the tourist industry as energy revenues sparked an economic boom.<ref name="Esslemont">{{cite news|author=Tom Esslemont |date=7 September 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6982271.stm|title="Pearl of Siberia" draws investors|work=BBC News |access-date=4 December 2007}}</ref> Viktor Grigorov's Grand Baikal in [[Irkutsk]] is one of the investors, who planned to build three hotels, creating 570 jobs. In 2007, the Russian government declared the Baikal region a [[special economic zone]]. A popular resort in [[Listvyanka, Irkutsky District, Irkutsk Oblast|Listvyanka]] is home to the seven-story Hotel Mayak. At the northern part of the lake, Baikalplan (a German NGO) built together with Russians in 2009 the [[Frolikha Adventure Coastline Track]], a {{convert|100|km|abbr=on|adj=on}}-long [[long-distance trail]] as an example for sustainable development of the region. Baikal was also declared a UNESCO [[World Heritage]] site in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Lake Baikal |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> [[Rosatom]] plans to build a laboratory near Baikal, in conjunction with an international [[uranium]] plant and to invest $2.5&nbsp;billion in the region and create 2,000 jobs in the city of [[Angarsk]].<ref name="Esslemont"/>

Lake Baikal is a popular destination among tourists from all over the world. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, in 2013, 79,179 foreign tourists visited Irkutsk and Lake Baikal; in 2014, 146,937 visitors. The most popular places to stay by the lake are Listvyanka village, Olkhon Island, Kotelnikovsky cape, Baykalskiy Priboi, [[resort Khakusy]] and Turka village. The popularity of Lake Baikal is growing from year to year, but there is no developed infrastructure in the area.

The ice road to Olkhon Island is the only legal ice road on Lake Baikal. The route is prepared by specialists every year and it opens when the ice conditions allow it. In 2015, the ice road to Olkhon was open from 17 February to 23 March. The thickness of the ice on the road is about {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}}, maximum capacity allowed – {{convert|10|t|abbr=on}}; it is open to the public from 9&nbsp;am to 6&nbsp;pm. The road through the lake is {{convert|12|km|abbr=on}} long and it goes from the village Kurkut on the mainland to Irkutskaya Guba on Olkhon Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://russianblogger.me/lake-baikal-in-the-winter-driving-on-frozen-lake-baikal/|title=Driving on frozen Lake Baikal in the winter|last=Daniil|first=Timin|website=Russian blogger}}</ref>