2024 Archive
500,000 visitors from 30 countries turn out for ‘Let’s Travel!’ Russian Tourism Forum at RUSSIA EXPO
The 4th ‘Let’s Travel’ Russian Tourism Forum, the tourism and hospitality industry’s premier event, was held at the RUSSIA EXPO from 12 to 16 June 2024. This year’s Forum received annual event status by decree of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
“Tourism is one of the economy’s fastest growing sectors, and the government is working with businesses to make affordable, comfortable holidays a reality in this country. The ‘Let’s Travel!’ Forum brought experts out to help participants figure out how we ought to be developing tourism and better acquaint visitors with unique places in this great country. The Forum ended up being a huge affair with more than 3,000 participants from every corner of Russia and 30 other countries taking part and the site welcoming more than 500,000 visitors, 10 times more than last year.
More than 3,500 people took advantage of special offers and promotions made available to exhibition guests. The growing interest in travel within the country will help us achieve the President’s goal of increasing tourist flow to 140 million trips per year by 2030,” Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Head of the ‘Let’s Travel’ Russian Tourism Forum Organizing Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
Over 500,000 guests from 30 different countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Cuba, Myanmar, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Tanzania, and the Republic of Belarus, took part in the Business and Festival programmes over the five days of the Forum.
More than 85 stands were presented in the Festival exhibition, ensuring each of Russia’s 89 constituent entities was represented.
“Domestic tourism, particularly important for Russia, has grown significantly in recent years. At this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, experts argued that the growth in this segment was playing an important role in the economic development of remote regions and helping to preserve national heritage and identity. And many people are looking past large cultural centres to the small towns and villages that can reward tourists with a more unique, authentic experience. The very structure of the tourism industry is changing. Tourism is no longer the business of large operators alone. Many small businesses and individuals have begun to craft their own unique tourism products, making the industry more dynamic and adaptable to changes in tastes and preferences. The economic importance of tourism continues to increase and, as noted at the Forum, so will its contribution to GDP, making government support and investment in tourism infrastructure a priority.
The government is working to create favourable conditions for tourism to develop, improving the accessibility of transport, developing the hotel business, and introducing financial incentives for investors. SPIEF 2024 touched on the social and economic significance of tourism. It helps create jobs and increase incomes, raising cultural levels and quality of life, cementing tourism’s place in the modern economy and confirming its ability to respond to global challenges and change. In 2023, domestic tourism grew in Russia in remarkable ways, increasing by 13%. Government targets for further development of the industry are ambitious, with plans to increase tourist flow to 140 million trips per year by 2030 and raise the industry’s contribution to GDP to 5%. This reflects a strategic recognition of tourism as an important economic resource. Tourism is expected to grow steadily at 4.6–4.7% annually, underlining its importance as a sustainable driver of economic development.
The domestic market is performing well, especially in light of post-pandemic recovery. Russia is also developing its tourism infrastructure, with more than 250 ski resorts, 500 kilometres of ski slopes, and 53 national tourist roads. 10 special economic zones established to develop tourism and 4,300 tour operators make the industry stronger. The tourism industry employs more than 1.1 million people, making it one of the largest employers in the country. The combination of government support, strategic planning, and investment in infrastructure has created the perfect conditions for tourism to continue to grow and develop in Russia and new opportunities for local communities and foreign investors,” Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the ‘Let’s Travel!’ Russian Tourism Forum Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov said.
Festival visitors could also visit a wide range of foreign stands from such guests as Uganda, Uzbekistan, Cuba, and Thailand, making international tourism a hot topic at the 4th ‘Let’s Travel!’ Russian Tourism Forum.
The Business Programme opened with a plenary session dedicated to International Tourism. Russia and the World, where attracting foreign tourists to Russia and the first results of efforts to promote Russia’s tourism potential in foreign markets were discussed.
Also considered during the plenary session were the topics of visa facilitation, how to improve e-visas, visa-free tourist exchanges with China and Iran, negotiations along this line with other countries, and increases to the number of direct flights.
“The format of the ‘Let’s Travel!’ Forum is perfect for networking with international partners, rolling out new tour products, and getting feedback from foreign guests. The Forum has ended up becoming the ideal place for discussing industry development and investment, domestic and foreign, for holding working groups, and for important agreements to be reached. Every region of the country was here this year to present their opportunities and new tourist products, and our foreign guests and compatriots were able to see how different the culture and history of the different parts of Russia can be,” Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov said.
The Business Programme included a meeting of the Ministry of Economic Development with representatives of the domestic tourism industry for an open dialogue on the results of Russian Union of Travel Industry strategic sessions.
At the meeting, Maxim Reshetnikov reported on the measures implemented as part of the roadmap for transforming the business climate in tourism and new initiatives that have been planned to supplement the document to remove barriers the business community has had to deal with unnecessarily.
Other significant Business Programme events included a meeting of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development with the heads of regional tourism agencies and bilateral working group and commission meetings with foreign partners, including Uzbekistan.
Forum participants focused particularly on the development of infrastructure and new tourist products.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia organized a round table dedicated to national tourist routes and discussing best practices for creating interregional routes.
The Business Programme included a session organized by the Mountains of Russia ecosystem dedicated to Ski Resorts: Investments in Future Infrastructure and Business Stability. Creating Innovative Trends in the Industry. At the session, experts discussed practical issues facing the development of the ski industry, drawing attention to the importance of state support measures and legislative concern for systemic issues and sharing good ideas and experience developing tour products for ski resorts.
12 agreements and 1 memorandum of cooperation were signed at special ceremonies during the ‘Let’s Travel’ Russian Tourism Forum.
This year’s Forum Festival Programme was extensive and hosted a large number of exciting events and unique opportunities for visitors to learn more about the tourism potential of Russia and other countries. The multimedia stands and festival and gastronomic venues immersed guests in the unique cultures of Russia’s minority ethnicities and the peculiarities of the country’s different regions. Tyumen Region, for example, received guests in a relaxing thermal bar zone, the Republic of Bashkortostan delighted all with national music and delicious national sweets, Ryazan Region showcased ancient pottery, the Kuzbass stand held presentations for Kuzbass in the Heart and Gornaya Shoria. Children of the Taiga national tourist routes, the two leading taiga destinations of Sheregesh and Mezhdurechensk, and opportunities to learn more about the development of Shorian shamanism and play a real leather ceremonial tambourine. A delegation from Udmurtia offered visitors a unique journey to the birthplace of Tchaikovsky. And the foreign delegations had much to offer: Uzbekistan showcased its own rich culture and served traditional bread and fruit, the delegation from Thailand showcased unknown tourist destinations, and the group from Cuba acquainted visitors with the history of their country and its main sites.
The VDNH main stage featured performances by the Slavyanye (Slavs) folk song ensemble from the Smolensk Region, which will sing songs a cappella and with live accompaniment, the Krasnoyarsk dance ensemble Yenisei Dawns named after Gennady Petukhov with a dance number choreographed by Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Gorlov, the Uslada ensemble from the Vladimir Region, singer Irina Kiskorova from the Kemerovo Region, who has mastered the ancient art of ‘kai’ throat singing, and an exciting and fiery lezginka dance performed by dancers from Dagestan.
At the behest of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, a mobile guide was developed this year with feature discounts and special offers from Forum participants. For the first time in the history of the ‘Let’s Travel!’ Forum, guests could purchase tours around Russia at favorable rates right at the venue.
The 4th ‘Let’s Travel!’ Russian Tourism Forum wrapped up with Youth Days on 15 and 16 June. The Business Programme included 22 thematic tracks in 4 main blocks: Hospitality Work, Business in Tourism, Travel Blogging, and Youth Travel. More than 1,000 people took part in the Youth Days. Representatives of the federal executive authorities and regional tourism departments, universities, tour operators, and other tourism companies joined young professionals and students to discuss how to build a successful career in tourism and create a business and tour products, as well as new opportunities for youth tourism in Russia.
The ‘Let’s Travel!’ Russian Tourism Forum was organized by the Roscongress Foundation.
The Forum was held with the official support of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the autonomous non-profit organization National Priorities, the Centre for Strategic Research, and leading industry associations.
