Chechnya absolutely safe, comfortable for holidaymakers - tourism official

Chechen Republic is an absolutely safe and comfortable region I terms of holidaymaking and the local authorities and ordinary people always look forward to hosting tourists, Oleg Safonov, the director of Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) said on Thursday at the end of a second Visit Chechnya tour exhibition. It was held in the Shira Bena-Yurt museum of architecture and local lore located near the township of Benoi. "The Chechen Republic is absolutely secure and absolutely friendly," he said. "People here look forward to receiving tourists and love hosting them." "Tourists feel quite comfortable here and proof of the fact is found in the ever-growing inflow of tourists," Safonov said. "We believe special attention the Chechen leadership attaches to the development of tourism guarantees successful development of the industry in the region." Chechnya’s acting president Ramzan Kadyrov told reporters the Chechen Republic is the safest place in the world community today. "We won in the struggle with terrorism and established constitutional order here," he said. "Our people has made a decision to stay within the Russian Federation. All the branches of power have been formed and the very word ‘security’ has moved backstage." "We are developing tourism and the economy in general and creating an investor-friendly environment," Kadyrov said. "We’re designing a wide array of programmes in cooperation with Rostourism," he said. "I think this will be the most tourist-friendly and attractive region." A total of seventeen districts of Chechnya demonstrated their potential for tourism at Visit Chechnya. Each district had a display of its tourist sights inside a courtyard styled to the old days. Hotels and museums also showcased themselves. A present, Chechnya offers sixteen tourist routes. Most of them cross the capital Grozny, as well as Vedeno and Itum-Kali districts, and the Kazenoi-Am tourist compound.