I.Metshin “The stars that are lighting up in Kazan today will shine brightly on the tourist horizon of the Volga region”

The results of the 2022 Stars of Hospitality of the Volga region Competition were summed up at the Kazan City Hall. This year it was held for the first time on interregional level– representatives of the hospitality industry of nine Volga cities became its participants. The awards were presented to the winners by the Mayor of the capital of Tatarstan Ilsur Metshin.

“The local competition, which was found in 2015, has now grown into an interregional festival. Such projects contribute to promotion of the profession and motivation of employees of the hospitality industry, while the communications at the festival contribute to reaching new level,”- I. Metshin said in his welcoming speech.

This year, more than 120 representatives of the tourism industry applied for the competition. According to the results of the first stage 75 people reached the final. All of them came to Kazan to compete for the victory. According to the results of the interregional stage, the jury determined 27 winners and prize-winners in 9 nominations.

Yekaterina Busareva became the best restaurant manager, and Svetlana Kiseleva became the best waiter. Both contestants represented the Amaks Safar Hotel restaurant. Regina Fedotova, who works at the Kommunalka bar, won in the nomination The best Bartender. Dinara Ziganshina became the best maid, and Vlada Nikonova became the best pastry chef, they both represent the Riviera Hotel. Elina Amirova from the Nogai Hotel was recognized as the best porter. Elena Bogomolova, a tour operator from Nizhny Novgorod, won in the nomination “The best manager for domestic and inbound tourism”. Artemiy Zhuravlev, from Branch&wine bar, became the best chef, and Rusina Semenenko became the best city blogger. Ilsur Metshin presented them with diplomas and gifts.

The Mayor of Kazan thanked the jury members, experts and volunteers who contributed to the promotion of the contest and became part of the Stars of Hospitality family. “I am sure that this family will expand, everyone will support each other, sharing success, smiles and joy. I am convinced that the stars that are lighting up today will shine brightly on the tourist horizon of the Volga region. Each of you will be able to advance your career, and participation in the competition will be the next step on your happy and successful professional way,”- Ilsur Metshin addressed the participants of the ceremony.

The main goal of the festival is to improve the quality of service and promote working professions in the hospitality industry, the head of the city reminded. I. Metshin noted that last year the capital of Tatarstan was visited by more than 3 million tourists, now Kazan is interested in Russian and foreign tourists.

For reference, 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. The capital of Tatarstan has made a step forward in tourism development, but Ilsur Metshin has set a new goal – to increase the number of tourists to 5 million by 2030.