Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism to show tour operators, journalists and bloggers hospitality for 2,2 million

Reception of tour operators, journalists and bloggers to cost 2,2 million

The Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism expects tour operators, journalists and bloggers till the end of the year. The committee is ready to allocate a generous 2,2 million rubles on their reception from the republican budget, Realnoe Vremya found out.

The guests will be accommodated in hotels in the historical centre of the capital. The Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism plans to provide top living conditions. A contractor is required to accommodate tour operators, journalists and bloggers on the following conditions:

• for at least 55 days in standard double rooms in a three-star hotel, including the organisation and breakfast;
• for at least 35 days in standard double rooms in a four-star hotel;
• for at least 60 days in standard double rooms in a four-star hotel;
• for at least 30 days in standard single rooms in a five-star hotel.

The committee is ready to host a real feast for the guests. They are planned to be offered lunch and dinner in cafes and restaurants located in the historical centre, at their place of residence. As few as 280 portions of lunch, 270 portions of dinner are ordered. The guests’ table will have a vegetable or meat salad, national Tatar pastry, second meat or fish plate and, of course, tea or coffee.

The programme envisages two coffee breaks — an ordinary and national. In the first case, the guests are planned to be served fish or vegetable or fruit aperitif and a set of pickles or fruit. The national coffee break will be much more nutritious. One can help oneself with cold cuts, particularly horse sausage, or pastry with beef, lamb, chicken or duck. In addition to this, the guests will be served vegetables and berry drink.

They can fully enjoy the beauty of Kazan — the State Committee intends to offer five-hour sightseeing tours. The programme cannot help but include the icon of the Tatarstan capital — the Kazan Kremlin. The tourists will be able to see Qul Sharif Mosque and the Assumption Cathedral. Also, they will walk along the Old Tatar Settlement, go to the Marjani Mosque and Kazan Virgin Mary Monastery.

Also, the guests are going to travel outside Kazan. Specific places aren’t indicated, but a distance of 150 and 600 km is meant. In the first case, at least two trips and at least five journeys are prepared. In the second case, at least three and at least two trips. A contractor is required to provide Mercedes-Benz buses or an equivalent made not later than in 2013 to provide this service.

The guests will not leave Tatarstan without souvenirs. The main tourism committee of the republic decided to make them happy with chak-chak. A contractor must prepare at least 10 pieces 700g each and at least 50 pieces 300g each.

Welcome to Tatarstan

One of the goals of the Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism is to raise the competitiveness of the tourism complex of Tatarstan in the Russian and international tourism markets, particularly to create a favourable tourist image of the republic and increase the amount and diversity of tourist services provided to the population. And the committee seriously works in this area, including by working with bloggers and journalists.

In August, the shooting of Who is Russia travel show with bloggers from Italy, Morocco, Japan, India, Moldova, Angola and Zambia ended in Tatarstan. In Lake Kaban in Kazan, they looked for Kazan khans’ treasures and learnt the secrets and legends about the history of the republic. In Bolgar, they talked with the imam of the White Mosque. In the island town of Sviyazhsk, they visited traditional workshops and so on. At the end of the tour, they shared their impressions with Kazan citizens in a stand-up. Bloggers help to attract tourists to Tatarstan on TikTok too. In spring, the State Committee for Tourism announced a contest for the best video about how cool it is to travel in Kazan. In the end, users of the popular social network managed to see more than 50 videos of Tatarstan bloggers about the attractiveness of the republic.

This year, the Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism has already received journalists from Murmansk and representatives of five federal newspapers — Interfax-Tourism, RIA Novosti, Evening Moscow, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The latter, by the way, arrived in the republic on 13 September, in the first subsidised charter flight from Moscow to Kazan together with tourists. For a couple of days in Tatarstan, they were acquainted with Sviyazhsk, Great Bolgar, Innopolis, the Kazan Kremlin and the Temple of All Religions.

How to attract to Tatarstan en route and by watching a series

To attract tourists to Tatarstan, the authorities don’t limit themselves to press tours for journalists and bloggers, they resort to usual methods. This month, the Tatarstan Committee for Tourism has announced a tender for an ad to promote tourism possibilities of the republic in Moscow and Saint Petersburg for nearly 8 million rubles. Almost 5,000 posters in Tourist wagons will be placed in Sapsan high-speed trains, which connect the cities. It is planned that the attraction of Muscovites and Petersburg citizens to Tatarstan will last for at least one month.

For this purpose, the tourism committee ordered the transmission of videos aimed to attract travellers to Tatarstan, on the website of ivi online cinema. 3,9 million rubles were allocated for this from the republican budget. Throughout the advertising campaign, which will be from 1 September to 25 December 2021 inclusively, the videos are planned to be shown at least 2,477,396 times. They are to cover at least 495,480 unique viewers from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Bashkiria, Mari El, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Perm Krai, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Samara and Saratov Oblasts.

The effort of the Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism bears fruit. In 8 months of 2021, 2,9 million tourists visited Kazan, which is just 7% less than in 2019. In other words, tourist traffic to the capital of Tatarstan reached the pre-pandemic level. The committee hopes that their number will rise to 3,5 million people by the end of the year.