MOSCOW, November 5 (Itar-Tass) — The Rostourism Federal Tourism Agency said the implementation of the federal goal-oriented program to develop domestic and incoming tourism until 2018 will increase the flow of tourists within Russia by 40 percent.
"We're expecting the inflow of domestic tourists to increase 37.2 percent by 2018," deputy director of Rostourism Dmitry Mikheyev told a news conference.
"The budget revenue from the implementation of the program will make up 574 billion roubles," he underlined noting that each budget rouble invested in the program would bring 1.7 roubles of profit.
The program to promote tourism products is staring from December 2011, within the framework of the federal goal-oriented program. Its purpose is to demonstrate the economic potential of the sector.
"It is expected to stimulate domestic demand and consolidate investment projects that exist today," Mikheyev stressed.
Russia must be interested in promoting domestic tourism, because it is not possible to form good incoming tourism without a good market for domestic tourists and investors.
"The domestic products must be of good quality, safe and affordable," he said.
According to the Rostourism official, a total of 332 billion roubles would be spent on the federal goal-oriented program to develop domestic and incoming tourism by 2018. Private capital accounts for 63.6 percent of the sum, regions for 7.5 percent and federal budget allocations make up 28.9 percent.
It is planned to spend 1.1 percent of the sum for the whole federal program on promoting tourism potential in 2011-2012.
Mikheyev reminded that 19 regions had been selected as the areas where the federal program would be implemented. These include the Ivanovo, Pskov, Lipetsk, and Yaroslavl regions, and the republics of Buryatia and Tatarstan. At present, Rostourism has applications for participation in the program from almost all Russian provinces, according to the official.
Rostourism expects an increase in the flow of domestic tourists to 33.7 million people this year, compared with 32 million last year. The increase occurred thanks to the first results of the federal goal-oriented program, Mikheyev said.