Khakassia Puts Itself on the Radar

Alena Donskaya, 24.01.2014 10:56

In 2014 the State Tourism Committee will become a separate entity from the republic’s Ministry of Sports and Tourism. This will ensure more effective development of tourism in the region and more productive participation in federal projects, as well as allowing to garner additional resources. This decision was taken during the latest Cabinet session, reports the TRN correspondent.

“Tourism in Khakassia holds a great deal of promise. That is why the new state committee has to become a separate institution, which will each day lobby for the republic’s interests on a federal level. This means participating in programs and raising billions of rubles for implementing interesting projects,” said Viktor Zimin, the head of the republic’s government.

By the way, as part of the campaign to promote the republic on the travel market, a new informational website has recently been launched – the investment portal of the Republic of Khakassia www.invest.r-19.ru.

The priority projects that have been brought to the attention of the potential Russian and foreign investors include two significant enterprises in the field of sports and tourism: reconstructing and modernizing the Abakan airport complex and creating a business area ‘Abakan-City’ in the capital of Khakassia.

According to Viktor Zimin, “the development of the airport is one of the main conditions for the development of the republic”. The main objective for 2014 is to complete the work of replacing the lighting facilities. Other important objectives include increasing the passenger traffic and expanding the flight network. In 2013 the passenger traffic was increased by 28% and amounted to 154 thousand people. In the coming months the republic’s Ministry of Transport and Abakan International Airport plan to launch the route Abakan-Tomsk-Abakan and charter flights for foreign destinations. Such flights to Thailand have been available since October. Launching charter flights to Turkey is slated for May 25^th. The possibility of resuming round-trip flights from Abakan to Vladivostok is currently being negotiated.

New equipment is being bought in order to improve and diversify the aircraft servicing. Also, a new federal target program comes into effect this year, which will use the money from the federal budget to upgrade the existing air-navigation equipment.

As for the business area ‘Abakan-City’, this project is considered as being instrumental in developing business travel in Khakassia. It will be a group of buildings that will include a business center, a hotel and a shopping center.

Nineteen objects in total have been recommended for tourism investment in the Republic of Khakassia. The implementation of these projects will facilitate the development of all the major types of tourism in the region: recreational, educational, business and sports tourism.