Meeting-goers saying da (yes) instead of nyet to Russia
Russia has mobilized a whole new base of English-speaking hotel and tourism staff to meet what is expected to be a future rising demand for conventions in cities such as Moscow that in the past have been little-visited by North Americans.
Even Russian tourist officials acknowledge this is a new market.
“A blank spot on the tourist map,” admits Ola Kastensson, head of the Moscow City Government Tourist Committee.
Nearly 200 meeting planners and destination management company representatives began their own discovery of Moscow during the Global Events Partners 2011 Executive Summit last month, reported Meetingsnet.com.
“What they found were world-class hotels in matchless historic settings, compelling event venues, and excellent service. They found royal grandeur, Cold War memories, and chandeliers in the subway. They found a genuine excitement and openness on the front lines of Moscow’s hospitality industry, still a new trade in Russia,” said the site.
The city is modern but still tinged with hints of bureaucracy, bad traffic and signs in the Russian alphabet.
“I don’t want to hide our problems,” said Shpilko Sergey Pavlovich of the Moscow City Government Tourist Committee. “You may think it’s not good marketing to start with problems, but of course we have problems. We have traffic jams, not enough modern convention venues, visa issues, expensive airfare.”
But he added Moscow has changed also in the past two decades.
There are new business-class hotels with service comparable to the same level of other European capitals, for example. He claims there are at least 17 hotels meeting four and five-star standards.
Many more hotels are also on the way, he added.
New infrastructure includes three international airports, as well as new fast trains and boats on the Moscva River that are comfortable venues for meetings.
Two potential problems are security concerns, which he says do not exist. But he admits the slow visa issue from the US has been a continuing detriment.
By David Wilkening
David
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