Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during a meeting on the development of tourism and the hotel industry in the Russian Federation. Photo: Dmitry Astakhov/POOL/TASS
Mikhail Mishustin, who is now on a working trip to Altai, started the meeting on the development of tourism and the hotel industry in Russia with a sad start. The day before, there was a fatal accident: a truck with tourists overturned. The group arrived from Yekaterinburg and was heading to the Karakol lakes. As a result of the accident, according to the latest data, a 26-year-old man died, 12 people were injured, including nine children. Preview: technical malfunction of the car. The group did not use the services of tour operators and was not registered. The driver did not have a license to transport people.
Mishustin expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. The Prime Minister urged paying special attention to security in the provision of tourist services. After all, 2.5 million people rested in Altai alone last year.
– Federal and regional authorities must pay the utmost attention to how tourism services are provided. Together with the business, look for solutions to minimize the recurrence of these cases. Understand each specific situation. This applies not only to the republic, but to all Russian regions,” Mishustin said.
In Altai, the prime minister visited a place popular with tourists – the Manzherok complex, located at the foot of the Malaya Sinyukha mountain. The resort has a modern five-star hotel, a hotel complex and 13 glamping sites. The current ski season has become a record for the resort and has lasted 150 days. The spa is visited by up to 7 thousand people per day.
Mikhail Mishustin inspecting a hotel on the territory of the Manzherok all-season ski resort. Photo: Dmitry Astakhov/POOL/TASS
Mishustin said that traveling in Russia becomes more attractive every year.
– There are routes to the most picturesque corners and significant cultural sites. Conditions for the improvement of the beach and health, as well as active recreation, children’s and youth tourism are being improved, noted Mishustin.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the number of guests in Russian hotels in the five months of 2023 increased by 14% compared to last year.
The prime minister was presented with several projects to create modular hotels in Russia. They are prefabricated structures in the picturesque corners of the country, on the shore of a lake or in a forest. Mishustin admitted that last year he rested for the first time in a modular hotel.
– It’s unbelievable, just unbelievable. I never imagined that it is so simple, quite economical and environmentally friendly to create the opportunity to stay in places untouched by man, where it is beautiful, where nature is, the Prime Minister said.
According to him, in the next three years the number of modular hotels will grow by a third. The government has launched a corresponding program. Now there are more than four hundred of these hotels in the country. Last year, with the help of federal authorities, modular hotels were built in 20 regions. The leaders are the Leningrad and Moscow regions, the Krasnodar and Altai regions.
Mishustin also drew attention to the need to build 3-4 star hotels so that more people could rest within the country for reasonable money. According to the prime minister, the program, which allows companies to receive loans at preferential rates, can be extended to the construction of “three” and “four”.
– This will make it possible to launch large investment projects and create powerful centers of attraction. Travelers are in dire need of such “anchor” resorts, Mishustin said.
He recalled that hotels, campsites and recreational centers are already exempt from VAT. And the State Duma recently adopted amendments abolishing the payment of VAT on sales of tours in Russia.
The authorities intend to increase the flow of tourists to Russia and other countries of the world. The head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said that visa-free tourist exchanges between Russia and China, as well as between Russia and Iran, will start on August 1. These are group tours.
– We have exchanged a list of tour operators, all procedures have been completed, and from day to day we hope that the first groups will come to us, provide an additional tourist flow, – explained Reshetnikov.
He also said that the government is expanding air traffic. Now you can fly direct flights to Russia from more than 30 countries.
– Together with the Ministry of Transport, we are constantly working on geography within the framework of intergovernmental commissions. Now this is one of the priorities of our foreign economic activity, – said Reshetnikov.
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