The development program of Moscow hotel facilities for the period till 2010
The concept of the program
Development of tourism in any region is directly connected with the volume and the quality of hotel complex.
Historically Moscow was not developed as a tourist region, though in 1960-1980 the number of tourists who visited the capital by tourist exchange organized by official bodies reached ten million a year, including 5 million from abroad.
Due to radical political and economic transformations the tourist stream reduced dramatically.
However by the beginning of 2000 the number of visitors to Moscow increases steadily. In 2004 the Russian capital was visited by 3.5 million foreign tourists. 150 MOSCOW hotels with 64,000 numbers in 2004 have almost run out of their capacities. Loading has exceeded 70%, and reaches 95 -100% during the periods of business activity.
The program of development of tourism in MOSCOW stipulates creation of conditions for further growth of tourism, transformation of MOSCOW into large international tourist center with developed modern service infrastructure for visitors from the Russian regions and from abroad. By 2010 the tourist stream would make not less than 12 mln. persons a year, including 5 million of foreign tourists.
To accept them it is necessary to double capacity of city hotel facilities by 2010, as it is stipulated in the "General scheme of location of hotels in the city of MOSCOW until 2010" accepted by the Government of MOSCOW. In the first place MOSCOW lacks modern middle class hotels (2-3 stars category), designed for mass international and internal tourism.
At the same the city time solves the problem of stage-by-stage modernization and reconstruction of more than half of operating hotels especially built in 1950-60 which have become physically and morally outdated and demand reconstruction.
Using the highest standards to hotel facilities experts estimate that only 20 - 25 % of hotel facilities correspond to all the modern requirements. Basically it is 4-5-star hotels constructed during the last 7 or 10 years.
Recording to the "General scheme of location of hotels in the city of MOSCOW until 2010" it is planned to construct additional network of hotels for 61.7 thousand places in the Russian capital.
In 2004-2005 the hotel facilities of city will increase on 14 or 15 hotels with total capacity of 5.6 thousand places. A total of 90 hotels are in the process of construction, reconstruction, designing or predesign preparation. Among them are 21 hotels at the stage of construction with total capacity of more than 5 thousand places.
Among the most remarkable new objects are the hotels on territory of the Russian cultural center on Krasnie Holmi, hotels on Lesnaja, Sushevskij val, Pokrovka streets, on Kadashevskaja quay, etc.
There are active construction works on the place of "Intourist" hotel disassembled in 2003; there is a construction of a new building of "Budapest" hotel, "Sokolniki" and "Urals Mountains" hotels, preparation of the underground part of "Moscow" hotel.
The serious increase in rates of hotel construction in MOSCOW is planned for forthcoming years. Recording to the plans the annual gain of numbers in 2006 to 2010 will be not less than 22 thousand places. The priority of new hotels (up to 20 new objects) is given to the Central administrative district (CRO) including territory of constructed tourist-recreation zone «the Golden ring of Moscow». The hotel network also actively extends in Northeast, Southeast and West administrative districts of the capital.
Construction and reconstruction of all hotels is conducted by the scheme of attraction of investors on a competitive basis.