Proceeding of the board "On the Results of the Work of the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2017 and Tasks for 2018"
Today in the assembly hall of the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of the Kazan (Volga region) Federal University, a proceeding of the board "On the Results of the Work of the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2017 and Tasks for 2018" was held with the participation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Aleksei Valeryevich Pesoshin. The Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan Sergey Ivanov spoke as the main speaker. The co-speakers were: the Director General of the ANO "Tourism Development Center of the Republic of Tatarstan" Dilbar Sadykova - "On the Implementation of Special Projects of ANO "Tourism Development Center of the Republic of Tatarstan" in 2017 and plans for 2018", the manager of the hotel "Relita-Kazan", the President of the Association of hotels of Kazan and Tatarstan Gulnara Safina - "The Event as a New Driver for the Development of the Hotel Market of the Republic of Tatarstan", the director of Municipal Budget Institution of Culture "Museum of Laishevsky District named after G.R. Derzhavin" Farida Murtazina - "Development of Tourist Routes on the Example of Laishevsky Municipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan".
In his report Sergey Ivanov told about how the tourism industry in Tatarstan developed in 2017: "
"The development of tourism today is carried out in accordance with the strategy of social and economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan until 2030.
In 2017, the development of the tourism industry in the Republic of realized within the framework of the State Program "Development of Travel and Hospitality Business in the Republic of Tatarstan in 2014-2020".
In total, for the development of the tourism sector in 2017 from the regional budget, it was allocated more than 160 million rubles, which is twice as much as in 2016." - at the beginning of his speech, Sergei Ivanov said.
"Let me to thank the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan on behalf of the entire tourism industry for the comprehensive support of the tourism and hospitality sector in 2017.
Within the framework of the State Program "Development of Travel and Hospitality Business in the Republic of Tatarstan in 2014-2020", the implementation of the comprehensive program for the development of the tourist destination "Visit Tatarstan" as a priority task of 2017 has been singled out.
The "Visit Tatarstan" program is aimed at promoting the tourist opportunities of the republic in the Russian Federation and in priority foreign markets, as well as developing the tourist industry within the region with the aim of bringing it to the contemporary world standards."
Activities within the program "Visit Tatarstan" are carried out in two blocks.
The first block is the external work.
It includes the following areas of activity:
- the promotion of tourist product of the Republic of Tatarstan;
- the international and interregional cooperation.
In 2017, the tourist opportunities of the Republic of Tatarstan are presented at 12 major international tourist exhibitions in Russia and abroad.
The State Committee organized 25 onsite presentations and road shows in Russia and 11 foreign countries for representatives of tour operators and journalists.
Presentations of tourist centers of the Republic of Tatarstan took place within the framework of the road show. The event calendar of the republic and specially developed tourist routes for each country, including offers for the period of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, are presented separately.
At the initiative of the State Committee, 37 advertising and information tours were conducted in the Republic of Tatarstan for more than 400 representatives of tour operators and journalists from Russia and from 17 foreign countries.
Tatarstan is included in the catalogue of offers of tour operators of the United States of America, Canada, Finland, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, India, Vietnam, Austria and Germany. In the reporting year, Tatarstan was visited by the first tourists from the United Arab Emirates.
In order to popularize Tatarstan as a tourist destination in 2017, the State Committee launched 7 advertising campaigns in Russia, Finland and Germany. Presentation materials were placed on the most popular advertising media and information sources from Russian and foreign audiences." - he continued
"In 2017 new channels of promotion of tourist resources of Tatarstan were applied:
- in all Aeroexpress trains, the image-building posters "Tatarstan 1001 Pleasure" are posted in Moscow; on the screens inside the cars a video clip "Visit Tatarstan" was broadcasted;
- the video "Visit Tatarstan" was shown in theaters of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Ufa, Izhevsk before the premiere of the most box-office movies;
- in the supermarkets "Bahetle" in Moscow, buyers got acquainted with the tourist opportunities of our direction and registered for a drawing of lottery for the trip to Tatarstan.
In 2017, the content of the Republican tourist portal visit-tatarstan.com continued to be updated and expanded. The number of visits during the reporting year increased almost 14 times and amounted to an average of more than 15 thousand per month from Russia and more than 120 foreign countries.
In 2017, much attention was paid to the interaction with the mass media of Russia and foreign countries.
In total about the tourist potential and attractiveness of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2017 there were more than 3 thousand publications, on TV channels 220 plots were shown."
"In the reporting year, the State Committee carried out active activities to develop and strengthen international and interregional cooperation in the field of tourism.
The State Committee for Tourism hosted the delegations and representatives of the tourism industry from 14 foreign countries.
Within the framework of the existing bilateral agreements, the State Committee for Tourism has worked with the Czech Republic, Finland, Iran, Uzbekistan, Belarus.
In 2017 in the framework of the educational project "InTrain", Kazan was visited by the first tourist groups of Austrian students studying Russian language. They purposefully arrived to Tatarstan not only for practice of Russian language, but also for studying the culture of tolerance in the republic.
On the Russian market, sales of tours began on the interregional route "The Great Volga Way", the creation of which was initiated by the State Committee.
"The Great Volga Way" was entered into the National program for the Development of Children's tourism of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. This route will include visiting the main attractions of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Marij El. It is planned that in 2018 more than 2 000 students from all regions of Russia will travel on it.
In the reporting year, the State Committee jointly with colleagues from St. Petersburg developed an interregional route "Palaces and Mosques". The route is designed primarily for foreign tourists.
With the purpose of realization of tasks of the second block of the Program, providing internal development of destination "Visit Tatarstan", the State Committee carried out work in several main areas:
- the formation and development of tourist and recreational clusters;
- the development of tourist infrastructure and services;
- the training and professional development of staff for the sphere of tourism;
- holding the event and professional actions.
Within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Development of Domestic and Inbound Tourism in the Russian Federation (2011-2018)", the intercepting parking was built on the road "Approach to the Island-Grad Sviyazhsk" in the Zelenodolsky Municipal District."
"The State Committee carried out work on the inclusion of tourist centers of Tatarstan in the program of river cruises.
This allowed Sviyazhsk for the first time to take 82 multi-deck motor vessels in the reporting year.
In 2017 the opening of new tourist venues, which contributed to the expansion of the cultural and cognitive program for the guests of Tatarstan: the entertainment and exhibition complex "City Panorama" and the museum of Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda, new museums in Sviyazhsk and Elabuga, the second stage of the embankment in Veliky (Great) Bulgar.
In 2017, the work continued on the creation of the Fish Museum and the development of the Dolgan Polyana estate complex in the Tetyush District, and the infrastructure in Almetyevsk is also actively developing. A good example is the beginning of work on the development of the concept of tourism development in Nizhnekamsk and Kamsky-Ustinsky district. In both cases, this work is conducted with the involvement of local residents and interested business representatives.
In 2018, it is planned to create a system of tourist navigation in Elabuga and installation of additional navigation elements in Kazan.
In 2018, work will be continued to improve the infrastructure of tourist routes in the municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Development of tourist infrastructure allows to create new non-standard tourist routes.
One of the world trends in tourism development, the experts call emotions – about 60 percent of tourists are willing to spend money on new impressions.
In 2017 the State Committee developed and presented the brand route "Tatarstan: 1001 Pleasures". The leading companies and experts of the republic participated in the development of the route in the field of domestic tourism, the results of research on the wishes and preferences of the guests of the Republic of Tatarstan were considered.
Special route "Tatarstan: 1001 Pleasures" is the new standards of hospitality and guest care in accordance with the values of "Visit Tatarstan" brand: attention, abundance, emotions. The task for the route is not just to show interesting venues of Tatarstan, but to focus on new emotions, experience of the traveler, taste sensations.
The special category of tourist infrastructure is represented by the venues of sanatorium-resort complex of the Republic of Tatarstan.
In the first half of the year there was a decline in the number of holidaymakers in health centers of Tatarstan. To overcome this negative tendency, the State Committee together with the Republican Association of Sanatoriums and Resorts "Sanatoriums of Tatarstan" and the Republican Agency for Press and Mass Communications "Tatmedia", the work was strengthened on promoting the sanatoriums of the republic.
Within the framework of the "Rest in Tatarstan" campaign, press tours for journalists of the republican mass media are organized in our sanatoriums. Sanatoriums of the republic took part in major tourist exhibitions. Together with the Medical Workers Association of Tatarstan Republic, 5 training webinars for representatives of sanatorium-resort and medical institutions were conducted.
An online booking system for "Sanata" tours has been established and implemented. At the moment the service aggregates offers of 14 republican health centers. Most sanatoriums in the past never had such a contemporary service.
Work on the development of the sanatorium-resort complex is being carried out in close cooperation with the company Tatneft and the Federation of Trade Unions of Tatarstan.
In the reporting year, the State Committee paid much attention to the training of professional staff for the tourism and hospitality sector of the Republic of Tatarstan.
On the initiative of the State Committee for Tourism, from May 15 to May 17, 2017, on the basis of the Higher School of State and Municipal Administration of the KFU, the advanced training program was held for the third time for specialists engaged in tourism development in the municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan. 30 specialists from 20 municipalities of the Republic have been trained in the program. In 2018, the continuation of this educational program is planned.
In 2017, more than 150 our specialists - the representatives of tourist organizations, hotels and restaurants, teachers of educational institutions, national parks, guides and guides-interpreters - were trained within the program "National System of Training and Professional Development of Tourism Industry Specialists". The training is organized jointly with the Federal Agency for Tourism.
In 2017, the State Committee together with the Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies of the KFU organized training courses for the guides-interpreters in five linguistic areas: Farsi, Chinese, German, French, Arabic. The total number of persons trained was 50. In total, 150 specialists in foreign languages have been trained in the last three years.
In order to improve the quality of excursion services, the State Committee together with the Guild of Tour Guides of the Republic of Tatarstan organized a study for 120 tour guides of the republic from 12 to 14 December 2017.
In the reporting year the work of the Association of Hotels of the Republic of Tatarstan and specialized educational institutions in the field of tourism on the passage of students' practice on the basis of the leading hotels of the republic have been systematized. As a result, nine universities have received practice bases in hotels of Tatarstan, and hotel enterprises - the personnel reserve.
Students took an active part in creation of hospitable environment for tourists of the Republic of Tatarstan.
From May 1 to August 31, 2017, the Assembly of Tourist Volunteers of the Republic of Tatarstan with the support of the State Committee for Tourism implemented the annual project "Hospitable Kazan". On the busiest streets of the capital of Tatarstan, the volunteers provided all the necessary information about the city, its attractions and services for tourists to Russian and foreign guests. Over a hundred thousand people appealed to the volunteers during the project implementation.
During 2017, the State Committee for Tourism conducted active work on preparation of contestants for the Fifth National Championship WorldSkills Russia. In the final of the championship the second place in the competence of "Hotel Administration" was taken by Shakirova Adel, a student of the International College of Service, the third place in the competence of "Tourism" - Igor Guryanov and Irina Pudikova, students of Kazan Innovative University named after V.G. Timiryasov.
In 2017, the WorldSkills Russia Union, with the support of the State Committee, accredited the following specialized competence centers: Kazan Trade and Economic College in the competence of "Restaurant Service", International College of Service for Competences "Hotel Administration", "Confectionery", "Cook Business", Professional College № 41 for the competence of "Hairdressing".
In the reporting year the State Committee held professional events in the sphere of tourism.
On October 25-27, the second professional exhibition of restaurant and hotel business HORECA was held in Kazan.
On November 2-3, the Fourth International Tourist Forum "Guidelines for the Future" was held with the support of the Federal Agency for Tourism.
The main topic of the 2017 Forum is "Integrated Management of Tourist Territories". More than a thousand two hundred people from thirty-five regions of the Russian Federation, twenty-six speakers from seven foreign countries took part in the forum.
Every year the republican competition for schoolchildren, students and working youth "Journey to The Roots" goes to a qualitatively new level. In 2017, the contest accepted one hundred and sixty works from twenty-seven municipalities of the republic, more than one hundred and fifty educational institutions of Tatarstan took part.
The annual final event for the tourism sector of the Republic of Tatarstan is the republican contest "The Leader of Tourism". Twenty-three representatives of the tourist industry of Tatarstan in the reporting year became leaders in their directions.
The calendar of tourist events of the republic was remembered in 2017 by bright events:
• All-Russian Spassky Fair in Elabuga in 2017 was visited by a record number of people - one hundred and eighty-two thousand.
• The festival of the medieval battle "The Great Bolgar", which in 2017 gathered forty-seven thousand spectators, gained international status, becoming the largest festival of medieval battle in Russia.
• Gastronomic festival "Sviyazhskaya Uha" gathered more than three and a half thousand guests.
• Theater seasons in Sviyazhsk were attended by more than a half thousand people.
Undoubtedly, other events, such as the festival of creative sleigh "Sunny Fest" in Mamadyshsky District, the egg festival "Skorlupino" in Pestrechinsky District, the All-Russian festival of Russian folklore "Karavon" in Laishevsky District, the Festival of bell ringing "Alekseevsky Chimes" in Alekseevsky District, Fisherman's Day in Tetyush District.
We are always ready to support new events in the territory of Tatarstan and we are waiting for creative ideas from the municipalities of the Republic.
The most striking event of 2017 was the FIFA Confederations Cup.
At the stadium "Kazan Arena" in the official press center of the FIFA Confederations Cup in Kazan and in the Press Center for non-accredited journalists in the CEC "Pyramid", there are exhibition booths of the Republic of Tatarstan, which represent the tourist potential of the republic.
During the FIFA Confederations Cup in specialized tents, the information support of the city visitors was provided by the tourist volunteers who speak foreign languages. To this event a guide to Tatarstan "1001 Pleasures" was released, tourist maps of the Republic of Tatarstan and Kazan, the Great Bolgar, the island-city of Sviyazhsk, Elabuga, Chistopol and Tetyushi in Russian, Tatar, English, German, Spanish and Chinese. According to the results of the FIFA Confederations Cup, the attendance of our tour centers increased by 25 per cent on average.
In pursuance of the Federal Law "On the Preparation and Holding in the Russian Federation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup", the State Committee together with the municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan carried out work on the classification of collective accommodation facilities.
At the end of 2017, all collective means of accommodation are classified in the Republic of Tatarstan.
Currently in Tatarstan, as well as throughout Russia, there is a tendency of active delivery of private apartments and apartments for rent to tourists. Only in Kazan such venues are about a thousand. The cost of accommodation in them for the period of the FIFA World Cup is stratospheric.
However, the media regularly reports of fabulous prices for accommodation in Kazan during the FIFA World Cup. I would like to note that the prices in the classified hotels of the Republic are formed in accordance with the Regulation of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 10, 2016 No. 89 "On the State Regulation of the Cost of Hotel Services on Territories of the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation, Which Will Be Held Sports Competitions of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Private flats and apartments are not related to the classified hotel rooms.
We hope that the problem of increasing prices in private apartments will arouse interest of the inspection bodies and the Federal Tax Service in the Republic of Tatarstan, because this sphere can become a good source of income for the budget of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Thanks to the joint actions of the entire tourist community aimed at implementing the integrated Program for the Development of the Tourist Destination "Visit Tatarstan", in the reporting year the tourism industry showed positive dynamics in terms of key indicators.
In 2017, the tourist flow to the Republic of Tatarstan amounted to 3.1 million people, which is 7 percent more than in 2016. The flow of foreign tourists amounted to 278 thousand people. The largest increase in the number of tourists is from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, India, the United States of America.
The volume of services provided in the tourism sector, without taking into account the related industries, is forecasted at the level of 13.1 billion rubles in 2017, considering the related industries (food, transportation, purchase costs) - 20.7 billion rubles, which is almost 12 percent more than the indicator of 2016.
In 2017, the budget of the Republic of Tatarstan received from the tourism sector, considering the multiplier effect, 4.4 billion rubles as the tax liabilities.
In 2018, the tourist industry of Tatarstan will have an active work. The coming year puts the new tasks for the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The First One. Ensuring that the 2018 FIFA World Cup is held at a high organizational level in terms of attracting tourists, creating comfortable conditions for their stay and providing quality services at the tourist infrastructure facilities of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The Second One. Implementation of the program of development of tourist destination "Visit Tatarstan".
The main goal here is to promote actively Tatarstan in the Russian and international markets, attract investors for the implementation of investment projects for tourist and recreational clusters, organize and promote events for tourists, create a system of tourist navigation in the Republic of Tatarstan, etc.
The Third One. Creation of new republican tourist products.
Today there are a lot of offers for tourists in the tourist market of Tatarstan. However, basically all programs of tours are built on cultural and cognitive routes and are similar to each other, differing often only with names.
In 2018 there should be routes connected with active kinds of rest, based on reception of experience of local inhabitants, on our traditions and natural resources.
The Fourth One. Development of tourist infrastructure in the municipal areas of the Republic of Tatarstan. This task involves the development of information space, improvement of tourist routes, training of specialists in the field of tourism, etc.
The Fifth One. Introduction of information digital technologies in the sphere of tourism.
Today in the tourism industry we have to use Internet technologies, technologies of virtual and augmented reality.
With the development of tourism, the prospect of increasing the welfare of the residents of the Republic of Tatarstan, the number of jobs, tax deductions grows.
We must not only hold the leading position within Russia, but also be competitive in the world tourist market.
Our task is to ensure the annual rate of growth in all indicators of the development of the tourism sector at a level higher than the national average.
It is in our power to make sure that every tourist coming to the republic wants to return here again, to bring his/her children and friends, to tell the world about the wealth, beauty and liberality of the Tatarstan land."