I. Metshin: “There is no doubt that the tourism potential of Kazan is still great, but we need to survive the pandemic”

I. Metshin: “There is no doubt that the tourism potential of Kazan is still great, but we need to survive the pandemic”

<p> The tourism industry was one of the first to be affected by the spread of a new coronavirus infection. In Kazan, the outbound tourism market reduced by 60% in May, and the inbound tourism by 40%. Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin expressed the hope that soon the Tatarstan capital will welcome again a large number of tourists. “There is no doubt that our tourism potential is still great, but we need to survive the pandemic and be ready for the influx of visitors, which may happen this summer,”- the head of the city said at the weekly headquarters for combating the spread of coronavirus infection. I. Metshin emphasized that the main task is safety of tourists. </p> <p> Daria Sannikova, Director of the Committee for tourism development, noted that the number of employees engaged in tourism has decreased by 30%, while 2 hotels and 11 hostels have completely stopped their operation. </p> <p> Today, according to Daria Sannikova, tourism is gradually recovering – from June 11, summer terraces of cafes and restaurants are opened, besides passenger river transportation begin operation. The railway stations in Kazan resume its work. Now citizens can choose any direction in Russia to travel by train. </p> <p> It is also possible to travel around the country by plane – flights to 35 destinations have been resumed from Kazan airport. However, international flights are still not available. However, since August 2, it is planned to open air flights between Kazan and two cities – Istanbul and Prague. </p> <p> Presently, according to D. Sannikova, the hospitality must adapt to the current circumstances. Thus, the concept of a loyalty program for tourists has already been developed in Kazan. Public catering establishments will also join the program. </p> The city continues to develop new tourist products, to provide the market with new projects and excursions. When developing projects, the focus is made on conducting them in the open air.

2020-06-29T13:49:59+0300