At the end of 2020, the tourist flow to Kazan almost rebounded.
During the year, 1.7 million tourists visited the capital of Tatarstan. Ilsur
Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, believes that in the current situation, more
attention must be paid to the development of domestic tourism.
“It was not easy for all representatives of the
tourism industry. Last year we were on the edge, there were some losses, but at
the end we still got positive numbers. This year has high potential for
increasing domestic tourism, because there is no doubt that all main
destinations will be closed. We need to be prepared for the a large number of
tourists, our city is attractive for residents from all over Russia”, - Ilsur
Metshin said today at the Business Monday at the Executive Committee of the
city and instructed the relevant departments of the Executive Committee to
prepare for a possible increase in the tourist flow this year.
Daria Sannikova, Director of the Committee for Tourism
Development reported the results of tourism development for 2020 to the Mayor.
According to her, in 2020, the tourist flow to Kazan decreased by 52% and
amounted to 1.7 million people.
Among the visitors, 117018 people are foreign
citizens, which is 49% less than last year.
The gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions in
Tatarstan has given an impetus to the recovery of the tourism industry, said
Daria Sannikova. In particular, 11 new catering facilities has been added to
the gastronomic map of the city. The number of employees in the tourism sector
increased by 7%. Such numbers were achieved thanks to federal and republican
measures to support small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, many
employers have switched to online work, thereby optimizing costs.
The decrease is also observed in the air transport
segment. International passenger flights remained closed for almost 5 months.
According to D.Sannikova, in 2020, passenger traffic amounted to 2 million 171
thousand 601 people, which is 38% less than a year earlier.
The tense sanitary and epidemiological situation
allowed focusing all efforts on the development of domestic tourism in Kazan.
Daria Sannikova reminded that Tatarstan was included in the list of regions for
the implementation of the Federal program for stimulating domestic tourism. From
August 21 to 28, tourists could receive compensation for purchased tours for
20%, if the payment for travel services was made via the Mir payment system. Twenty-seven
accommodation facilities in Kazan, as well as nine tour operators participated
the program.