Plans are to receive 4.5 m tourists: Kazan ready for the summer season?

There will be by 30% more tourists

This year Kazan will host 4.5—4.6 million people, according to Sergey Ivanov, chairman of the Tatarstan State Committee for Tourism. The last summer season finished with 3.2 million guests.

“During the spring and summer season, Kazan enjoys the highest demand and is an active tourist destination. In the summer season, beaches, water walks along the Volga and Kazanka Rivers, boat trips, cycling routes and walks around the city are actively starting to work. Moreover, Kazan has become especially beautiful this year after a large-scale renovation. Already in the coming holidays and weekends from June 12 to 15, we see a high utilisation of accommodation facilities," Daria Sannikova, director of the Kazan Tourism Development Committee, told Realnoe Vremya.

According to her, mostly guests from Moscow, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia and Mari El come to Kazan. Among the districts of Tatarstan, the leaders are Naberezhnye Chelny, Zelenodolsk, Nizhnekamsk, Almetyevsk, Laishevsky, Pestrechinsky and Vysokogorsky districts. The number of foreign tourists is also growing, most of them from China, India, Iran, Turkey and Belarus.

There are 235 hotels and inns with 17,500 beds in Kazan. About 3,000 catering establishments have been opened: “If a tourist visits one establishment every day, then a year will not be enough to visit all the restaurants in our city," the speaker noted.

Share of bookings increased by 9.5%

The majority of tourists — about 47% — plan to stay in four-star hotels. Another 38% will stay in three-star hotels, and 8% in five-star hotels. Such data was provided to the publication by the OneTwoTrip service.

“In the summer of 2025, interest in Kazan remains stable: the share of bookings in the city's hotels increased by 9.5% compared to last year," the company's press service said.

According to the source, Kazan is now popular with residents of both capitals and other Russian megacities. Thus, Moscow ranks first (the share of orders from the capital is 31.1%), followed by St. Petersburg (27.9%), Sochi (11.0%), Kirov (2.5%) and Nizhny Novgorod (2.4%).

Last year, the top looked different: Moscow was also the leader (41.6%), followed by St. Petersburg (21.1%), Sochi (6.6%), Surgut (2.2%) and Kirov (2.1%).

Restaurants expect a 10% increase

Kazan restaurateurs expect a 10-15% increase in guests this year. This was reported to Realnoe Vremya by Galina Sharafutdinova, director general of the Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of the republic.

“Of course, we would like to see a 20-30% increase in guests. But in reality, we will be glad to see a 10% increase in traffic. Last summer, there was a one hundred percent occupancy rate on tourist streets on weekends, and about 80% on weekdays. In residential areas, restaurants with verandas achieved the same 80% at the expense of local residents, while in establishments without verandas the situation is weaker," she said.

Sharafutdinova expressed the hope that in three months, 30% of all tourists of the republic will visit catering establishments in Tatarstan. She did not mention the projected profit, but suggested that the profitability of enterprises could increase by 1-2%.

“Today, all restaurants are ready for the tourist season, because long-term practice and large-scale events have accustomed us to a large influx of guests. Every year we try to do something to enhance the attractiveness of our city. First of all, we want people to see the variety of cuisines, the high level of service and the quality of cooking," said the CEO of the association.

At the same time, there are no more than 20 restaurants of national Tatar cuisine in Kazan. “At first glance, this is not enough, but it is a piece-by-piece product, and it is in demand mainly in tourist locations," Sharafutdinova believes.

“At the moment, we are thinking about the development of Russian cuisine, because we are inside Russia and must show the authenticity of our Homeland,” the speaker added. “Unfortunately, there are not enough such gastroenterologists yet. Perhaps, this is due to that other projects are more cost-effective and economically more profitable. But we hope that Russian cuisine will also find its reflection in our region.”

As for the shortage of personnel, it is planned to attract additional staff in the summer, in particular from among high school students and students. Sharafutdinova clarified: “This does not cover all the needs, but nevertheless it is support.”

Natural sites

Tatarstan can also offer tourists outdoor recreation — the Directorate for Natural Territories of the Institute for Urban Development of the republic, in a conversation with Realnoe Vremya, named the most popular destinations.

The Volga Trail is a well-maintained hiking trail along the right bank of the Volga River from the borders with Ulyanovsk region to the Chuvash Republic with an additional segment in Kazan. The total length of the track is 350 km, the route connects five municipal districts, more than 100 cultural heritage sites and 26 specially protected natural areas. More than a thousand people have already visited the trail this year.

Blue Lakes is a specially protected natural area. It is a complex of three unrelated lakes: Bolshoy, Maly and Protochny, as well as a nature reserve. On average, about 900 people visit the place on weekends during the summer season.

Yuryevskaya Cave Visitor Center is where you can visit excursions to the Yuryevskaya Cave and Gypsum Tunnels or rent an ATV. On weekends, the average number of visitors is 280 people per day, on weekdays — 25-30.