In 2017 the authorities of Bashkiria expect to increase the tourist flow by 21.4% - up to 1.7 million people, the chairman of the State Committee of Bashkortostan for Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Vyacheslav Gilyazitdinov, said.

      "It depends on a lot of factors; nevertheless, I think that the tourist flow will reach 1.6-1.7 million tourists this year. In my view, the number of foreign tourists will double up to 120 thousand people", Vyacheslav Gilyazitdinov said at the press conference organized by the Interfax-Volga Region Agency on Thursday in Ufa. According to him, in 2016 the tourist flow in the Republic was increased by 25% compared to 2015, exceeding 1.4 million tourists (excluding disorganized tourists), including 67 thousand foreign tourists. This year the most likely driver for the growth rate could be the flow of tourists from China. "Interest (of tourists from China to Bashkiria - IF) is very high. For the present it is rather difficult to satisfy it because of the absence of a direct charter flight," the Head of the committee complained, suggesting that from this summer it is possible to open a charter from Urumchi city to Ufa.