Tourism in Nizhny Novgorod region: Huge potential, great opportunities

The Nizhny Novgorod region has a huge tourist potential. Today, the main task of the city and the region is to form its own recognizable tourist brand and substantially expand its presence in the domestic and in international tourist medium, which is one of the most important conditions for success in any business.

The city of Nizhny Novgorod is known to many Russians as one of the cruise cities on the Volga River. However, this direction of tourism is largely dependent on the general state of the river fleet and infrastructure of a number of regions. This dramatically reduces the possibility of efforts to change the situation of only one region.

The city and the region has all possibilities for the development of extreme forms of holiday-making, amateur tourism and weekend tourism. This may come as a surprise to many, but there are even ski slopes on the Great Russian Plain, on which the Nizhny Novgorod region is located. The famous village of  Khabarskoe offers 10 downhill ski tracks of various levels, suitable for beginners and professionals alike.

Where there are mountains, albeit low, one can find also caves. In the region, there are two locations that cavers enjoy most - the Bornukovskaya Cave and the Ichalovsky forest dotted with deep karst ravines.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region one can find exclusive options for extreme lovers. During the Soviet times, there were experiments conducted in the region to design unique flying vehicles - ekranoplans, or wing-in-ground effect systems. In the Chkalovsky district, one can rapidly fly over the surface of the Gorkovsky Water Reservoir on a real ekranoplan.

In the city, one can fly a real combat fighter at Sokol aircraft factory. There are places, where people can take a break from the industrial world, and become one with nature. These are not only numerous bases for active and extreme sports.

There are perfect hiking routes in the Kerzhensky Reserve that preserve the pristine natural beauty of the Nizhny Novgorod region. A walk in Vetluzhskoye Povolzhye natural park and picturesque lakes near the village of Staraya Pustyn will leave an unforgettable impression.

There are many streams and rivers in the Nizhny Novgorod land. Some of them, such as Lukh, Vetluga and Kerzhenets, are known for the beauty of their landscapes. Unhurried rafting trips on these waterways has become a hobby for  many Nizhny Novgorod residents.

Having a considerable and quite diverse potential in the tourism sector, the Nizhny Novgorod region has the potential to become one of the most attractive regions for foreign and Russian tourists.

"Russia has a huge tourism potential. The tourism friendly infrastructure needs to be improved - across reliability, security, cost, and comfort dimensions. The language barrier is not so important, the world is big and many people go to exotic locations where language is not necessarily English. As far as I know, most Russian tourism is domestic - some 70% or higher - not surprising for a large country. But yes, I would say many many people are interested in Russia - and not just Moscow and St Petersburg, but also to such authentic Russian places like Nizhny Novgorod," said Barrie Hebb, a Canadian economist.

In the Volga Federal District, Nizhny Novgorod is ranked second in terms of inbound tourism after Kazan. Moreover, the federal center has been developing and maintaining Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, during the recent several years. A number of major international events took place there that allowed to take the brand of the city of Kazan to an international level.

Nizhny Novgorod largely relies on its own resources. In 2012, a municipal program was approved in the region called "The Development of Tourism in the City of Nizhny Novgorod in 2012-2016," which involves the creation of a number of tourist clusters in this fifth largest city of Russia that has a rich cultural legacy.