BRICS tourist arrivals in Russia to top 2 mln in 2024 - Russian minister

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Economic Development Ministry expects BRICS tourist arrivals in Russia to top 2 million in 2024, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at a meeting of BRICS tourism ministers in South Africa's Cape Town.

"Emphasis is put on domestic and inbound tourism. We have various kinds of tourism with a large number of ski resorts and water parks, alongside the potential for developing cultural and rural tourism. A program of building modular hotels and soft loans for hotel projects has kicked off to commission over 30,000 hotel rooms in the near future. I have no doubt that these measures will help increase BRICS tourist arrivals in Russia, and their number will top 2 million as early as next year," the ministry quoted Reshetnikov as saying.

Russia has created a comfortable and safe environment for foreign tourists, it said, adding that Russia has more than 300 five-star hotels, 2,000 four-star hotels, and 5,000 three-star hotels. The International Tourism Competence Center in St. Petersburg trains skilled personnel and elaborates new measures of support for partners.

Russia has resumed direct flights to 40 countries, among them India and China, since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, Reshetnikov said.

"Now we need to provide convenient connecting flights between Russia, Brazil and South Africa," he said.

He also named the BRICS Russian presidency's tourist priorities in 2024: preparing a single tourism product for the BRICS countries and developing a strategy for promoting Russia's tourism potential in BRICS, harmonizing tourism standards, and developing joint digital solutions for the comfortable stay of tourists from BRICS countries in member states.