Ilsur Metshin: “We are expecting 20,000 guests at the BRICS Summit”

The capital of Tatarstan, has not yet hosted a such a large number of guests - in three days, the city will be visited by 20,000 participants of the BRICS summit, as well as journalists, experts, and volunteers. Fifty-three hotels will accommodate participants of the summit. Mayor Ilsur Metshin has inspected the readiness of the hotels, instructed to strengthen security measures, and noted the need for ongoing hotel modernization to attract more tourists.

Today, Mayor Martin conducted a tour of the tourist facilities in Kazan. He checked the readiness of hotels and hostels that will be hosting participants and guests of the BRICS summit.

“We are expecting 20,000 guests for the BRICS Summit. We have not hosted such a large number before. We have prepared 70 accommodation facilities for them, of which 53 are hotels in Kazan. On behalf of the Rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, we hold weekly meetings to prepare for the summit. We are regularly checking all the accommodation facilities. As of today, 37 hotels are ready to accommodate guests. The rest of the work should be completed within a month,”- said Ilsur Metshin.

Delegations from the countries participating in the summit will be accommodated in 25 hotels in the city. Sixteen more hotels are being prepared for journalists and staff. Other groups, including volunteers and law enforcement officers, will stay in another ten hotels.

One of the hotels ready for guests today is the Cosmos Kazan Hotel, located on Lesgafta Street. According to Lilia Farkhutdinova, the general manager of the hotel, the hotel has been renovated, reducing the number of rooms from 151 to 146. However, this reduction in room count has allowed to upgrade their comfortability, including a presidential suite and luxury rooms.

All rooms prepared for the BRICS summit are designed according to the environmental sustainability such as using plastic-free cosmetic kits. Additionally, some areas have been renovated. Work on the project began on December 15 and was completed in July.

 “Thank you for creating these conditions. Although this is an additional expense for you, updating the hotel's facilities for the summit will increase the opportunities for our tourism industry, - Ilsur Metshin said to Lilia Fakhrutdinova. - All this will lead to a new influx of tourists and new possibilities for your team. I remember once telling Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev that Kazan would receive a million tourists. He warned me then to be careful with promises. But last year we set a record, the number of tourists exceeded 4 million, and in the first half of the year we have already received 2 million 100 thousand people.”

The Mayor spoke with the staff of the hotel, which employs 63 people.

Another point of inspection was the Suleiman Palace Hotel on Peterburgskaya Street. Renovation work began here in October 2023 and was completed in April. The hotel now has 87 guest rooms, 19 of which have been renovated. These include presidential, VIP, and superior rooms as well as double suites.

For the upcoming BRICS summit, the hotel has also renovated its lobby and completely renovated the ground floor, which now includes a restaurant and bar area. The hotel currently employs approximately 70 people, and the administrators are able to communicate in English.

The BRICS summit will take place in Kazan on October 22-24.