MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Opening of a new gambling zone in Sochi mountain cluster will help to tackling the problem of resort use off-season, adviser to the head of Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency Evgeniy Kudelya said on Wednesday.
"Tourism traffic increased significantly during the last several years and the demand for holidays in Russia and particularly in Sochi is very high. At the same time, such assets will make a major contribution to solution of one more problem, the off-season problem. Despite the fact that Sochi is the most popular and one of the best resorts, we have the off-season curve and it should be smoothed out," the official said.
Opening of the casino and related infrastructure will provide new jobs for Krasnaya Polyana mountain settlement and extra revenues for Sochi and regional budgets, Kudelya added.
A new gambling zone in Sochi will meet the highest leisure and service standards, according to First Deputy Head of Sochi Anatoly Rykov.
"Appearance of a one more facility [gambling zone] will attract attention of tourists; it will meet the highest leisure and service standards," Rykov said.
"We believe appearance of a new service is an interesting addition to the overall list of services. The casino is a way of diversifying entertainment of our guests, one more our competitive advantage," chief executive of Gorki Gorod resort in Sochi Alexander Saurin told TASS.
The decree on creation of Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone was published on August 19 on the official Internet portal of legal information. The gambling zone in Sochi will go live on December 24.