Congratulations with New Year 2017 of State Committee Chairman of the Republic of Tatarstan on tourism Sergey Ivanov.

Dear colleagues, representatives of tourist industry, guests of the Republic of Tatarstan, I congratulate you with Happy Forthcoming New Year 2017!

The year 2016 became the year of new discoveries and achievements. The whole year we were hard working on that Tatarstan became one of the region leader in the tourism market of Russia.

The new program of destination development VisitTatarstan were presented. It is aimed at creating and realization of global communication strategy marketing campaign to promote the tourist potential of the Republic, as well as the further development of the tourism industry in the region and bring it to modern international requirements and standards. VisitTatarstan- it is understanding of the region, as a region of 1001 pleasure. The program is intended to be an umbrella for the main tourist centers of: Kazan, Elabuga, Great Bolgar, Sviyazhsk island-town, Chistopol and Tetyushi.

His own brand received the Great Bolgar and island town Sviyazhsk. Everything was done to these objects being established in the minds of tourists firmly as unique and unrepeatable.

Also the transport sphere was developed: through performed dredging works in 2016 for the first time to Bulgaria moored deckers, in cooperation with representatives of the Chinese tourist industry in August 4 in Kazan landed the first charter flight Urumqi-Kazan-Urumqi.

It should be mentioned that in the performed work took an active part tourist volunteers. It is for them in the past year was organized the event, while having no analogues in Russia - I All-Russian forum of tourism volunteers I.Pro. The forum brought together participants from 27 regions of Russia: from Tatarstan to Sevastopol. All of them had become part of the big "marathon" in the street Bauman, in which all regions had the opportunity to tell about themselves and present their tourist opportunities.

Tatarstan continues to occupy a leading position in various ratings: the island-town Sviyazhsk entered the Top 20 major destinations in 2016 according to Travel.ru tourist service. List of destinations was made the magazine «National Geographic Traveler», Kazan entered the top 5 most visited by foreign tourists Russian areas, it said the executive director of the Association of Russian Tour Operators Maya Lomidze, Kazan was the most beautiful place in Russia according to Skyscanner, international search engine in the self-travel - rating includes the best directions, which must visit evetyone. Tatarstan won the main prize in the nomination "The Russian guided relaxation" National Geographic Traveler Awards 2016 prize, as the part of the V St. Petersburg international cultural forum Tatarstan was awarded a diploma as a region-leader of the Russian tourism.

New Year holidays ahead, and Kazan is already among the top three destinations for travel. But this does not mean that our work is done. This means that we have to improve and develop further! 2017 is marked with the holding in our Republic the Confederations Cup, and in 2018 we will take the FIFA World Cup. All those who come to visit us should feel themselves at home in Tatarstan and get most of pleasure of stay here. We will have a difficult and hard work. But we are absolutely ready for this!

I would like to thank colleagues for their work and wish 2017 will be a year of successful development and new victories. To guests and tourists I’d like to wish great amusement in the Republic of Tatarstan. I hope in the new year we will achieve everything planned. Happy New Year!