Kazan will no longer be just a weekend destination
Kazan, which was named the third Russian tourist capital a year ago, is already becoming very popular as a weekend destination. Good geographic location, a well-developed transport infrastructure, city authorities’ support and a great cultural and historic heritage make Tatarstan one of the most perspective destinations in the Russian tourist market. During this year local tour operators noted that booked tours tended to be longer: up to 3-4 days (sometimes more).
Tourists want to see not only Kazan itself, but the surrounding areas as well: the fully restored Raif monastery, the island-town of Sviyazhsk which is being reconstructed, Elabuga –home of painter Ivan Shishkin and The Cavalry Maiden Nadezhda Durova and also Anna Cvetaeva’s place of death.
Most tourists are from Moscow and the adjacent territories of the Volga Region, recently Siberian tourists have started to visit more often. “Interactive educational programs are the most popular. Tourists are interested in the history of Kazan, it’s cultural features and traditions which are strongly connected with two religions – Tartar Islam and Russian Orthodoxy”, - said Olga Ilkun – marketing director of travel bureau “Kazan”- in an interview to RATA-news.
In Kazan itself most tourists like to visit the Kazan Kremlin which has one of the biggest mosques in Europe (Kul Sharif) and the falling tower of Soyembika, the Bauman pedestrian street, which is known as the Kazan Arbat. In the center of the city there’s a styled Tatar village called Tugan Avylym.
Here the tourists get to know about the Tatar cuisine and, if they like, can learn the secrets of ethnic baking techniques. A RATA-news correspondent has taken part in a workshop like this during a cruise along the Volga, organized in early June by Rostourism and Russian Tourism Alliance side by side with Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Samara Region. Kazan was only one of the stops the ship made during the cruise, which demonstrated to journalists and tour operators the tourist resources of the Volga Region cities.
During the trip to Tugan Avylym the guests took part in an interactive show that involved singing and dancing, and afterwards had a chance to sample the local delicacy – Cakcak.
Technically, Kazan has never had any problems with shortage of guests. Almost all ships, on their way along the Volga, make a long sightseeing stop here. Last year alone about 180 thousand people came into the city by water. According to the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of Tatarstan, the dynamic of the tour industry in the region is one of the best in Russia. Annual tourist flow growth was 12% in the last five years. More than a million tourists visited Kazan in 2010. The 2011 figures are expected to be 20% higher. Director of “Troika Plus K” Fania Makarova accounts the increase of tourists to good promotion of the regional product on many travel trade fairs. “But the best promotion Kazan gets is through the grapevine” – Mrs. Makarova is sure.
Many people come for the Sabantuy festivities or for the “Creation of the World” festival. Another big event, bound to bring in more tourists, should be the 2013 Student Games in Kazan.
The hotel infrastructure of the city is growing at a fast rate, too. In the last years ART-hotel, Park Inn, Courtyard, Marriott resort and several other hotels have been constructed in Kazan. All in all Tatarstan has over 200 accommodation facilities with 7 thousand beds. The city itself houses 83 hotels. The latest novelty is the “Riviera” 4-star hotel, the tallest building in the city, located just 500 meters away from the Kremlin across the Kazanka river. The entertainment complex has its own water park and an observation deck on the 26th floor, where you can enjoy a great view of Kazan.
Meanwhile Nailya Valiullina, managing director of “Stolitsa” travel bureau, notes a decrease in the number of foreign tourists. “At the moment there are not so many foreign visitors in the city that we could speak of mass tourism. Kazan is only a part of the vacation package that includes Moscow and Saint Petersburg” – Mrs. Valiullina explains. Tour operators expect an increase of foreign guests when the new train route Moscow-Beijing will be opened this august. The route has a stopover in Kazan.
Our experts outlined some of the problems of Tatarstan’s travel industry. For instance, general manager of “Kazan Intour” Viktor Stepantsov said, that the ancient Muslim city of Bulgar, (where Tatarstan once adopted Islam) is falling behind other cities in means of casual, non-pilgrim tourism. He thinks the city needs interactive programs that would be interesting for a wide range of tourists. But that requires help from local authorities. “We can just hope that these programs will be carried out after the city’s historic image has been reconstructed” – observed Mr. Stepantsov. Fania Makarova mentioned the poor condition of the motor boats, serving the Kazan-Sviyazhsk route during the summer period. The tourists prefer to access the island-town by water. But according to general manager of “Troika-plus K”, the vessels are old and rundown, thus not very comfortable.
Most Kazan tour operators noted that the cost of tours rose about 10%, compared to the previous year. The transport fares increased 25% because of the rising cost of fuel. Some hotels have hiked their prices 10% as well. Prices have risen in the fast-food and restaurant segment. “Of course the pricing affects the pattern of demand. Tourists started turning to more budget deals” – concludes Olga Ilkun.
