MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Moscow budget has received a record boost due to the development of tourist industry. The amount of tourists arriving to Moscow has doubled in the last eight years, and the hotels are set to be 90% filled during winter holidays, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
"In recent years, over 50 hotel complexes of various levels have been built, and about 30 hotels are currently at the development or construction stage, and they will open in the next two or three years. Such a hotel boom is not a coincidence - in the last eight years, the number of tourists in Moscow has nearly doubled due to urban upgrading, and the hotels are feeling the weight of that," the mayor said during the opening ceremony of the Radisson Blu Olympiyskiy Hotel in Moscow.
The mayor added that earlier, Moscow hotels were about 30% filled during winter holidays, however, now this figure has surpassed 90%. "Today, it is already hard to find a good hotel room for New Year holidays. And, of course, this is very beneficial for the city. Budget revenues from the tourism business have reached record highs, and just these revenues let us fully realize the renovation program in Moscow, the biggest in the world," Sobyanin stated.
He noted that this business is profitable not only to the city, but to the entrepreneurs as well. "I would like to thank the investors for their serious work," the Moscow mayor stressed.
According to the Moscow mayor’s office, the total volume of tourism consumption and the turnover from Moscow festivals has reached 817 bln rubles (about $12.2 bln), while the revenue to the city budget has quadrupled compared to 2010, reaching 112 bln rubles (about $1.6 bln). The total amount of tourists visiting Moscow has increased by 7.8 mln people, and is estimated to reach 12.1 mln by the end of 2018.
The Moscow hospitality system includes 1,646 officially registered accommodation facilities, with about 80,000 suites, the mayor’s office informs.