Ilsur Metshin: “If we want to have a year-round tourist flow, we need to work hard”

(KZN.RU, October 1, Ksenia Shvetsova). 2 million 650 thousand tourists visited Kazan from the beginning of the year to August. It is 15% more than in the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, 13 new flights have been launched, and this autumn the city will meet a three-millionth tourist. Daria Sannikova, the director of the Committee for Tourism Promotion, told at the Business Monday about the main results of the tourist spring-summer season, as well as why the past New Year holidays in Kazan disappointed many tourists. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, instructed to make proposals for the preparation for the winter tourist season in two weeks.

Since the beginning of the year, Kazan International Airport has transported 1 million 67 thousand passengers; it is 30% more than last year. 13 new direct flights to Kazan was made such as flights from Tbilisi, Batumi, Bologna, and Minsk. New flights appeared not only due to the holding of the World Cup in Kazan. By the end of the year, it is planned to launch a direct flight from Kazan to Krasnodar, and in December, direct trains will run to Minsk and Tashkent. In addition, the Kazan-Samara night train will become daily in the winter schedule, and the Nizhny Novgorod-Kazan route will extend to Izhevsk.

“The scale of the tourist flow allows us to apply the word “industry”. According to experts, it is appropriate to speak about the tourism industry at the reached level of the flow of 1 million tourists. We reached this milestone back in 2010”, she recalled. “Thus, we can state that the interest in Kazan is not just stable, but it continues to grow”.

This fall, Kazan is preparing for a historic event: a meeting of a three-millionth tourist. The anniversary guest, who will be selected with the help of a random number generator, will arrive in the capital of Tatarstan approximately in the November holidays. The residents of Kazan themselves can take part in drawing up the program of the guest's stay in the capital of Tatarstan. According to D. Sannikova, it is not easy to make an objective choice, as people arrive on planes, trains, buses, and private cars at once, many come in groups. That is why it was decided to launch the action “Become a three-millionth tourist of Kazan” for those who plan their trip to Kazan in early November.

On November 1, one of all applications will be chosen using a random number generator. If a tourist arrives with a family, then all members will be able to take part in the festivities. The anniversary guest will receive gifts: a unique tour, free accommodation in one of the best hotels in the city, and much more.

The residents of Kazan themselves can take part in drawing up the program of the guest's stay in the capital of Tatarstan. You can vote on the site 3million-tourist-kzn.ru for the most interesting tourist object and the favorite dish of Tatar national cuisine.

“We expect that this event will become a grandiose holiday for the entire hospitality sphere. It is a testament to the development of the tourism industry in Kazan”, believes D. Sannikova.

Voting on the site 3million-tourist-kzn.ru will last till October 15.

The growth of the number of guests in Kazan is conditioned, first of all, by event tourism. The capital of Tatarstan regularly becomes a venue for major events. D. Sannikova reminded that during the World Cup 300 thousand tourists from 36 countries of the world visited the city. Also, the festival “Fanfares of Kazan”, as well as the gastronomic festival “Delicious Kazan” and the opening of the tourist season “Ai Da Kazan” won prizes in the final of the regional contest of the prestigious National Award in the field of event tourism of the Volga and the Ural Federal Districts.

But Daria Sannikova noted that there are some faults, too. In the winter, the number of tourists noticeably decreases. “I think everyone remembers that during the winter holidays this year we could not create the atmosphere of a New Year's fairy tale in the city, after which 130 thousand came to us. Without the festive decoration of streets and tourist routes, the city was dark and uncomfortable. Many of our guests were disappointed, and some even shortened their planned stay in Kazan and left ahead of schedule. We do a lot to attract tourists, but with such faults, we cross out our work, which will not allow us to achieve our goals”.

I. Metshin agreed that Kazan needs new approaches to the New Year's design. He noted that due to the urban infrastructure changes, tourists have high expectations of staying in the capital of Tatarstan. “They compare us to Moscow. I can name the reason for this difference. It is the budget. Last year and the year before, we were able to allocate about 66 million rubles for the New Year's decoration. We cannot compare it with Moscow, where they have 6 billion rubles per year. We simply cannot afford such money”, explained I. Metshin and added that despite modest funding in Kazan, it is necessary to work on preparing the city for the winter.

“There will be no miracles. These billions will not appear from anywhere, therefore we ourselves must find a solution and work hard step by step. If we want to have a year-round tourist flow, we cannot afford to spoil the impression of Kazan: in summer it's good, and in winter it's bad. Of course, we will also apply to the leadership of the republic. We won’t do it without the help of the President. But I would like to see a new round of development of the New Year Kazan in this season”, I. Metshin said.

By 2025 the tourist flow in Kazan is planned to increase to 5 million tourists. “The strategy for the development of Kazan until 2030 set the task to increase the share of SMEs in the gross territorial product to 50%. And the achievement of this goal is inextricably linked with the development of tourism”, said the speaker. She added that the tourism industry influences the development of 53 related industries such as transport, communications, hotel and restaurant business, construction, agriculture, small business, trade, the services. “Today tourism has emerged from the shadow of the subordinate branch of the economy. And for Kazan, the issue of tourism development has always been and still is the priority direction of the city's social and economic development”, she said. To date, the tourism industry employs 13 thousand people, which is 2.2% of the number employed in the economy of Kazan. 3100 thousand people work in the hotel infrastructure, 8500 people work in the public catering sector. Compared to 2013, the number of people involved in tourism increased by 13.8%. In addition, over the past two years, there has been an increase in the number of hostels. Thus, 10 hostels were opened in the city in the previous championship in 2017, and this year there are 30 more.

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of the city, agreed with the growing importance of tourism for the economy of Kazan. He marked that, despite the positive indicators, much work remains to be done to improve the hospitality industry. “That level that we set ourselves is 5 million tourists. It has a specific economic justification, calculations. But there is more to be done in this sphere than has already been done, despite the achievements and successes that are marked by both Russian and international important awards”, believes the Mayor. “Tourist flow is an assessment of the attractiveness of the city that speaks of its state and hospitality. We have to work systematically and tensely in this direction”.