I.Metshin: "We must show the new Russia at the Universiade"

(KZN.RU, September 17, by Taisia Basharkina) Thanks to the efforts to promote to Kazan on the Russian and international tourism markets, the capital of Tatarstan took third place in the top 10 best tourist destinations of Russia, according to Tripadvisor. Kazan has moved up six places in a single year and today is considered the most attractive city for tourists after St. Petersburg and Moscow. This was announced by chairman of the Foreign Relations and Tourism Committee Ivan Kadoshnikov at the Business Monday today.

Taking third place on such a prestigious site as Tripadvisor is an impressive achievement, but much remains to be done for the 2013 Universiade in order to reach basic standards of international tourism, Ilsur Metshin noted.

The hotel network is expanding. Last year, six new hotels and the same number of hostels appeared in Kazan. Two more hostels were opened early this year. Next week, a four-star hotel Bilyar is due to open on Ostrovskogo Street, and by the year's end, an aparthotel Rubin will have been completed at Prospekt Pobedy and Lomzhinskaya Street. In total, 11 hotels, including three popular 2-3 star ones, are currently under construction.

An important task in preparation for the Universiade is installing tourist directional signs. According to I.Kadoshnikov, 51 signs for pedestrians, 30 city maps, 21 signs pointing to monuments, three information kiosks and 126 urban improvement elements will be in place by April 2013

" We’re going to receive visitors from 170 countries at the 2013 Universiade,  and they won’t be impressed by the sports facilities alone. Our task is to show them the new Russia. Kazan is the capital of a multiethnic republic, and we should demonstrate its flavor through its unique culture, traditions and ethnic cuisine,” concluded the mayor.