The construction of a new airport in the capital of the Altai Republic was announced by the head of Sberbank German Gref. The air harbor with a capacity of up to 1.2 million per year will allow harmoniously developing the infrastructure of the surrounding resorts, in which Sberbank also invests.
The investor calls the local airport a "narrow neck", which limits the development of tourist facilities in Altai, Interfax writes.
"We will build a new airport. The existing one will be demolished after construction, because the region requires much more power. We are currently designing an airport for 1 million 200 thousand passengers, and the government should do its part of the infrastructure – the expansion of the strip to 550 meters and the construction of aprons," the agency quotes the head of Sberbank.
The tour operators interviewed by the editorial believe that the construction of the airport will really help the development of the resort.
THE NEW AIRPORT WILL MAKE ALTAI MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR TOURISTS FROM CENTRAL RUSSIA
"This is one of the few destinations where we continue to fly on charters and it is in demand," FUN&SUN notes.
The press service of the National Tour Operator ALEAN also believes that a modern airport will make the resort more attractive for tourists from further regions.
"Now tourists from the nearest regions, for example, the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions, mainly go to Altai in their cars. With the advent of a new airport with high capacity, the number of tourists from other regions will increase. Logistics will be simplified. There will be more direct flights, and the cost of air tickets will decrease. More residents from different parts of the country, including Central Russia, the Northwest, and the South, will be able to see Altai," the company says.
In 2019, only 2% of tourists in the Altai Republic arrived there by air transport, many tourists fly to Barnaul, and then travel by land to a place of rest in the Altai Mountains.
THE PASSENGER TRAFFIC OF GORNO-ALTAYSK IS GROWING AT A FASTER PACE
The passenger traffic of the existing Gorno-Altaysk airport for the first half of 2023 increased by 62% compared to the same period last year – up to 164 thousand passengers. And this despite the fact that 101.3 thousand passengers used its services for the whole of last year.
Nine airlines fly from Gorno-Altai Airport to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Khanty-Mansiysk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novy Urengoy, Salekhard and Surgut.
Last week, Rossiya Airlines started operating flights from there, which will operate flights to Krasnoyarsk on SSJ-100.
TOUR OPERATORS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH HOTELS IN ALTAI, THE INVESTOR IS GOING TO BUILD THEM
According to the head of the Republic of Gorny Altai Oleg Khorokhordin, 2.5 million tourists visited the region in 2022, which is 15% more than a year earlier.
"Altai is a popular tourist destination with a shortage of rooms. During the season, the accommodation facilities are loaded almost 100%," ALEAN notes.
The investor represented by Sberbank is also already working with this problem. Among the key tasks are the expansion to four lanes of the Chui Tract, the construction of a children's park on the territory of 26 hectares, and 2.5 thousand new hotel rooms. The head of Sberbank noted that the plans are designed to increase the hotel capacity of the resort five times.
However, the key goal is to create conditions for attracting other partners to the development of the territory. "We are not going to build all the hotels – we will create a basic infrastructure that other businesses will come and build on," he said.
Earlier, in 2020, the media reported that Sberbank intends to invest from 4 to 6 billion rubles in the Manzherok resort in Altai over three years.
Please note that this press release is based on materials provided by the company. AK&M Information Agency shall not be held liable for its contents, nor for the legal and other consequences of its publication.
