All news

Luxury tourist complex under construction on Russian-Finnish border

PETROZAVODSK, November 29. /TASS/. A large tourist complex is currently under construction in Russia’s northwestern Republic of Karelia near the town of Sortavala on the Russian-Finnish border, Karelia Governor Alexander Hudilainen said in an interview with TASS comparing the complex to France’s famous Courchevel resort.

"A big Russian investor has begun to carry out an ambitious project on building a ‘Karelian Courchevel’ resort near Sortavala, with Alpine ski centers, a large recreation zone, a bowling club, swimming pools and skating rinks," Hudilainen said.

"I think, in a year, or a year and a half, the construction work will be completed and Karelia’s tourism industry will be bolstered with another facility," the governor noted.

However, Hudilainen did not elaborate on the overall investment in the "Karelian Courchevel".

According to Karelia’s Ministry of Culture, 70 companies included in the federal register of tour operators are active in the region. There are a total of 320 hotels, hostels and resorts that are capable of accommodating over 8,000 guests at a time. In 2015, 720,000 package tourists visited Russia which is 10% more than the previous year. The Karelian authorities expect the annual tourist inflow to grow to 1,000,000 by 2020.