Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Tourism Corporation have signed an agreement on joint development of the tourist infrastructure of the region

On 15 March in Moscow in the presence of the Deputy Head of Russian Government Dmitriy Chernyshenko, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov and Director General of the Russian Tourism Corporation Sergey Sukhanov signed an agreement on joint development of the tourist infrastructure.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chernyshenko said:  “It is an extremely important agreement. Today Tatarstan is a sufficiently developed tourist destination. However we understand the huge potential of this republic and we are grateful to Rustam Minnikhanov who pays much attention to the development of this sphere. Tatarstan acts as a tourist effect accelerator for the whole Volga Federal District. Currently the tourist flow to the republic amounts nearly to 3.5m people and it is planned to double it due to the development of the infrastructure.”

In the current situation the Russian Government does not stop financing the tourism sphere but on the contrary is creating all conditions for the economy of the branch to work actively, he continued, he added.

“For examples the VAT rate is zero for newly established and already functioning facilities which makes it more attractive for the investors as the projects payback period becomes shorter. And there is also a tourist cashback programme and comfortable hotels for our residents”, Chernyshenko told.

Under the national projects of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Tatarstan together with the Russian Tourism is planning to develop five tourist clusters such as Volga Bulgaria, Sokolka, Sviyaga, Kamskoye Ustye and Laishevo. The implementation of the Volga Bulgaria route will facilitate development of tourism and growth of the tourists flow in 6 more regions of the Volga Federal District.

“Tatarstan has always been attractive for tourists. Last year 3.3m people visited the republic and we practically reached the pre-pandemic level. We have three sites inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as the Kazan Kremlin, the town-island of Sviyazhsk and the Great Bolgar. In addition we are developing rural tourism as we have a lot of natural landscapes”, Minnikhanov said.

Giving his comments about the agreement, Sukhanov said: “Our task is to build modern and qualitative and affordable accommodation in the republic. Together with Tatarstan, Russian Ministry of Construction and other federal power bodies we will be solving the task of providing tourist projects with engineering infrastructure and roads”.