I.Metshin: “This year, the entire Samara region ‘visited’ Kazan”

Over 2,251,000 tourists visited Kazan in the first half of the year. It is expected that this number will increase up to 3.5 million people by the end of the year. As the Mayor of the capital of the republic of Tatarstan Ilsur Metshin noted today at the 19th session of the City Duma, Kazan has made a step forward, but a new goal has been set to increase the number of tourists to 5 million by 2030. The Mayor instructed to develop a program to apply to federal and republican authorities for necessary assistance.

“The hospitality industry is important for any city, that’s why we pay close attention to it, which is reflected in the urban infrastructure – there are many parks, museums, creative and cultural spaces in the city. This became possible thanks to the international sports and cultural events that took place and are still taking place in Kazan,”- the head of the city said. He noted that entrepreneurs, whom the Executive Committee supports and promptly responds to their emerging requests, make a significant contribution to the development of the tourism industry.

“In the new conditions, we are on the wave, this year we were ‘visited’ by the entire Samara region or three Krasnoyarsk, but there are new perspectives of work – to overcome the mark of 5 million tourists. This is an ambitious task for us and we need a work program,”- the Mayor said and offered to hold a meeting with representatives of business, science, and the tourism industry to discuss plans to increase the tourist flow.

Tourists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the cities of the Volga Federal District traditionally choose Kazan. However, potential tourists are also residents of territories remote from the republic, and the Committee for Tourism Development of the Executive Committee of Kazan is actively expanding contacts. According to the director of the committee Daria Sannikova, this year agreements on cooperation between Kazan and Kazakhstan, as well as Abkhazia were signed, press tours for journalists were held with a total coverage of their publications 2 million people. Tours for bloggers were also organized – the videos are designed for an audience of about 450 thousand people. In addition, advertising posters with information about Kazan events appeared in partner cities, strategic sessions were also held with partners from Moscow.

Chairman of Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism Sergey Ivanov noted that Kazan is one of the three tourist centers of the country. “In 2005, 400 thousand tourists visited Kazan, while this year a record number of tourists will come to Kazan. It is important to say that in the absence of European travel destinations, residents choose Kazan for travelling. At the same time, we are not inferior to foreign cities,”- he said.

Sergey Ivanov said that tourists’ satisfaction indicator is 90-95% now. According to him, tourists appreciate the comfort and cleanliness of the city, the prompt solution of household problems related to water shutoffs, as well as waste removal.  

In general, it is hard to imagine Tatarstan without well-developed tourism. The main economic effect falls on Kazan: every year visitors spend about 30 billion rubles in the capital of the republic of Tatarstan, Sergey Ivanov summed up.