Representatives of the municipal committee for tourism development, convention and exhibition sphere, hotel, restaurant and tourist business discussed the problems and outlook of the Northern Capital as an international destination on the background of political discord with the West, sanctions and shift in the focus to the “East” with simultaneous development of the infrastructure: the appearance of the state-of-the-art Pulkovo-3 Airport, ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre and other state-of-the-art facilities.

“We are ahead of the rate that we defined for ourselves. In 2001, when we combined Lenexpo and Expoforum and laid the first stone for the construction of the new convention and exhibition centre, we defined the development strategy of holding over 160 events at the site. Today, we have reached this indicator. In 2016, over 170 were held, hosting over 1 million visitors. In 2017, we expect over 1.1-1.2 million people,” Segey Voronkov noted optimistically.

In his words, serious work is underway jointly with the convention and exhibition bureau of St. Petersburg, several conventions are planned for 2018 and subsequent years, and another five events are being developed before 2025.

“Our strategic tasks are being realised: we are strengthening the existing and attracting new events. The exhibitions, in contrast to the conventions, are seriously bound to economic competition, they are growing and consolidating. For example, the NEVA exhibition, St. Petersburg international forum, were developed by us. Common sense dominates: in the industries where there is growth, the number of foreign participants also rises,” he stressed and discussed the successful work of the Chinese Business Centre in Lenexpo as a “business Chinatown.”

General Director of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Olga Motenko, noted the warming up of relations with foreign partners and participants. The Forum takes place annually in the city on the Neva, and as the expert noted, the number of participant is increasing: it is convenient for people to solve business questions in three days and they come to St. Petersburg with pleasure.

To the question of what is lacking on the business tourism market in St. Petersburg, Olga Motenko responded: “For the first visit, it is important for foreigners not only to attend a business event, but also to look at the city’s beauty. This is an enormous argument for those we invite as guests for the first time. We have over 4,000 forum participants, and if the centre had a convenient site, we could invite 1.5-2 times more participants. Now we invite only the cream of the market.”

 More critical position about the tourism market and the city infrastructure was presented by Head of the tourist company ITS, investor in Indigo Hotel, Viktoriya Shamlikashvili.

“People come to our city, and this is important. But the airport is underutilized in both the number of routes and people. Pulkovo is one of the most expensive airports in the world for servicing. Thanks to Sapsan, people come to us even by train, but we need convenient approaches to the Moskovsky railway station and Pulkovo Airport,” she remarked.

Alexander Tikhomirov, CEO of Transtec Neva Exhibitions, which every two years successfully conducts in St. Petersburg an international exhibition on civil shipbuilding NEVA, noted that ExpoForum International has sufficient expertise both in accommodating guests in hotels within the complex, and in other hotels: “We do not hear complaints about the quality of the reception at the stations and airports. Visas are a difficult aspect, this question needs to be resolved, and it is simpler to obtain a tourist visit than a business visa.” The expert believes that the visa issue can be solved with the assistance of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The position of the municipal administration was provided by the Deputy Chair of the Committee on Tourism Development of St. Petersburg, Nana Gvichiya: “Quite recently, we were recognised as the best tourist destination in Europe, and the business community has a positive attitude towards St. Petersburg. The sanctions affect certain segments and markets, but they have not affected us. In the first half of 2017, St. Petersburg was visited by 4 million tourists, and the rise in the number of tourists from Canada and the United States is 10%.”

Qatar Airlines will begin to fly to St. Petersburg in December, and the city expects an influx of new guests, including for business tourism, the expert noted and stressed: “Any problem can be solved when it is discussed and when there is the possibility of solving it. Not only is the infrastructure important, but also filling the content of the planned events.”

As noted at the end of the meeting by CEO of ExpoForum-International, Sergey Voronkov, the convention market in 2018 expects a 15-20% growth, and it is important at the exhibitions to compete in product quality.