Tvil.ru accommodation booking service on January 30, the day of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden has interviewed tourists on social networks and found out the most popular fairy-tale characters. Father Frost and the Snow Maiden from Tatarstan have won the third place (4%). According to the survey of Tvil.ru 88% of the respondents have voted for Father Frost from Velikii Ustiug and the Snow Maiden. The Russian Father Frost and the Snow Maiden are recognized as the most beloved characters. Also respondents mentioned Talvi Ukko and Lumikka from the Republic of Kareliia and Hel Muchi and Iur Pike from the Chuvash Republic – 2.5% for each.  

On the 16 of February Kysh Batyr festival will be held in the Great Bolgar, in the Tatar language it means "The hero of winter". The main point at the event will be open competitions in sports and historical or modern biathlon, applications for which can be submitted by anyone. In addition, the spectators will see knight’s battles held by the war-historical clubs of Tatarstan and ski multiathlon with stops for archery, javelin, axe and stone throwing. Traditionally, the festival will be held in the medieval entourage, among the knights in armor and craftsmen on the background of the museum and historical complex of the ancient city. The entrance is free for spectators, the participants need to register in the group in "Vkontakte". There will be a parking place, a food zone and strip malls of folk art crafts on the territory of the festival. Event program The central platform (the ski track) 11: 00 – start of the competition. Modern skis nomination. 13: 00 – start of the competition. Historic multiathlon nomination. 14: 30 – Awarding ceremony. Medieval camp platform 11:00 — 15:00: - blacksmith and leather workshop; - armory and wardrobe; - crossbow and throwing shooting range; - children's fortress and children's jousting; - interactive platforms; - power contests; - heroic tilt-yard; Farce platform 11:00 — 15:00: - performance of musical and theatrical groups, demonstrations of clubs of historical reconstruction and artistic fencing. Fair platform 11:00 — 15:00: Strip malls of folk art crafts and historical fair. Historical cuisine platform 11:00 — 15:00 Historical kitchen platform

Today in the auditorium of the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of the Kazan (Volga) Federal University a Board meeting on "The results of work of the State Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan on tourism in 2018 and the tasks for 2019" was held with the participation of Koniushkov Aleksei Alekseevich, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for tourism, and Mukhametshin Farid Khairullovich, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan. The main speaker was Sergei Ivanov, the Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan on tourism. Supporting speakers were: Dilbar Sadykova, Director General of Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Center of development of tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan" – the report on «Implementation of special projects of Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Center of development of tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan" in 2018», Bashirova Iulia, Director General of Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Assembly of tourist volunteers of the Republic of Tatarstan" - the report on "Implementation of projects of the Assembly of tourist volunteers of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2018",  Kotdusov Gabdelakhmat, Head of a farming enterprise - the report on "Implementation of  the preliminary cluster of rural tourism in the Republic of Tatarstan". In his report Sergei Ivanov told about the development of the tourism industry in Tatarstan in 2018.

On December 6 the Federation Council held a round table on "Topical issues of the application of e-visas for foreign citizens staying in the Russian Federation and improvement of the legislation in this area".  The event was organized by the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security. The meeting was attended by Valerii Riazanskii, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Liudmila Bokova, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Vladimir Dzhabarov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Aleksandr Rakitin, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Igor Fomin, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, as well as representatives of regional executive authorities, heads of federal and regional ministries and departments, representatives of the scientific and expert community. Sergei Ivanov made a report on "Simplification of the visa regime as the main driver of the tourism industry in the Russian Federation". "In general, the continuous growth of the global tourist flow has been going on for 8 years in a row, - said Sergei Ivanov, - according to a joint study by Ernst & Young, Russia ranks fifth among the most interesting tourist destinations for foreign tourists, but the potential of Russia as a tourist destination is not fully used. At the same time, neighboring states have embarked on the path of active attraction of foreign tourists. Thus, in Georgia it was decided to cancel visas for the citizens of 104 countries, including the EU and the USA. As a result, in 2016 the number of foreign visitors in Georgia was 19% more". Sergei Ivanov continued: "Now the Russian citizens can freely visit 113 countries: Russians can travel to these countries "without visas" or receive visas right at the airport. There are also 11 countries that issue e-visas to the Russians. At the same time, citizens of only 36 countries can enter Russia without a visa. Among them: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominica, Cuba, Mauritius and other not rich countries. On July 6, 2018 an agreement on the mutual abolition of visas for the citizens of the UAE and Russia was signed in Kazan, but this agreement still has not entered into force. Intergovernmental agreements on visa-free group travels have been signed with Iran and China, but the agreement with Iran is currently not valid." The participants of the round table discussed the current practice of issuing e-visas to foreign citizens staying in Russia, the prospects of its extension to a greater number of checkpoints across the state border of the Russian Federation, as well as the expansion of the list of states whose citizens could receive e-visas. The issues of improving the legislation in this sphere were also touched upon.