Russia to embed in international travel market

The Ministry of Culture has now full authority over Russian travel trade. The move is caused by the sector's ambitious targets and a huge potential of the country in general. This was told by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Mrs. Alla Manilova, at the "Ministers Meeting" held as a part of MITT-2013 trade fair on March 20. The event was organized by Russian Ministry of Culture, the Association of National Tourist Offices Representatives (ANTOR), and the international exhibition company ITE. "We have full support from the government. We are planning to make significant steps towards the build-up of our tourism and leisure infrastructure and intend to take up a competitive position on the international travel market as soon as possible. Even though we know what a hard battle for tourists is going on right now," – she stated.

The Deputy Minister said that the prime objectives of tourism authorities include both protection of Russian tourists' interests abroad and attracting new foreign visitors to the country. "The number of Russians travelling abroad has grown significantly. Those social categories of citizens who until recently couldn't travel outside their homeland have now included this item in their family budget," Alla Manilova explained. In this respect, it's vital for Russia to cooperate with every country that receives Russian visitors.

To give an example of this type of partnership, Alla Manilova mentioned joint ventures between Russia and China. "Last year we had the year of Russian tourism in China; the Chinese Tourism Year is now in progress in Russia. As a result, we saw a 45% increase in the tourist flow from the PRC," she elaborated. During this year's MITT trade show, an agreement to carry out the Russia-Italy Tourism Year has been signed. It will commence in September and be underway until autumn 2014. Projects like this, deems the Deputy Minister, increase the flow of tourists to both countries.

The meeting was attended by Tourism Ministers of multiple countries, including those of the CIS. They came up with a number of suggestions for Russian tourism authorities. Among other things, the CIS officials assume that one of Russia's major competitive advantages is medical and health facilities. Yet, Russia and CIS countries have neither a shared vision of this tourist product nor unified standards of such services. So this issue should be addressed with special care.

South African Minister of Tourism observed that members of the BRICS association, where both Russia and South Africa are present, should cooperate more closely, as they have common goals and problems. Turkey, which is currently ranked seventh in the global tourism rating and first in that of Russia, has, too, shared a secret of successful development of the travel industry. The country's Tourism Minister advised to spare no effort in working with local administrations, as well as to amend tax legislation and, most importantly, to promote the destination high and low.