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Yakutia seeks to lure tourists with diamonds

“In 2010 Yakutia received 140,000 Russian and foreign tourists, while in 2011 we expect that this figure will grow by 6 percent,” Kormilitsyna said

YAKUTSK, December 11 (Itar-Tass) — Yakutia, also known as the Republic of Sakha in Russia’s Far East, plans to launch a new program to lure tourists beginning from August-September 2012, the republic’s minister of entrepreneurship and tourism development, Yekaterina Kormilitsyna, said.

“Taking into account the fact that Yakutia is well known for its diamonds the action dubbed Diamond Week is designed to become an annual event and help to create stable associations among potential tourists,” she said after the international conference on event tourism development on Saturday.

The forum brought together representatives of the World Tourism Organization, twelve Russian regions and foreign experts from Finland, Germany, South Korea, Japan and Britain.

“In 2010 Yakutia received 140,000 Russian and foreign tourists, while in 2011 we expect that this figure will grow by 6 percent,” Kormilitsyna said.

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