Representatives of leading event industry publications from the UK, Belgium, Germany and Russian specialized mass media visited several cities of Russia as part of the press tour around the venues of World Cup’2018. The event was organized by the Russian Convention Bureau with informational support of Roscongress Foundation.
The theme of the tour was selected not by chance: the infrastructural changes made for 2018 World Cup influenced the regional economy, and will affect the future development of the event industry in Russia.
«Infrastructural capabilities of many Russian regions today correspond to all the requirements for holding international congresses and forums. I believe that this capabilities must be actively used in order to develop these territories further, attract new investments, add to profits of budgets at all levels,» advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov said.
Special attention within the tour held in Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and Sochi was paid to the venues of the recent World Cup, and the future of their use for various international events.
The press tour began in Moscow where the participants visited the new infrastructure objects, including Zaryadye Park. The visit to the new park was planned by ConcordBusinessService LLC, an active member of the Russian Convention Bureau. Other visited sites included the venues already well known on the event market — the International Trade Center, the ExpoCenter CEC, and Radisson Blu Royal Hotel.
The program in Ekaterinburg was prepared with participation of partners of the Russian Convention Bureau — Center for Tourism Development in Sverdlovsk Region and the Ekaterinburg Convention Bureau. The guests were impressed with the large-scale project of Ekaterinburg-EXPO International Exhibition Center and the enthusiasm showed by the application committee of Euroexpo-2025; they said that the region has every chance to win the bid to hold the event. Mass media representatives toured Ekaterinburg Arena and learned about the future use of the facility. The foreign journalists wholeheartedly praised the Yeltsin Center for its unique and modern museum space, and, undoubtedly, its excellent congress capabilities. At the meeting with mass media representatives Deputy Minister of investments and development of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Porodnov noted that congress and exhibition infrastructure of Sverdlovsk Region allows to host international events of any scale. «We are ready to provide every support to development projects in the event industry and show foreign experts all the capabilities of the region’s event industry,» Alexander Porodnov said.
During a visit to Rostov-on-Don foreign media representatives were very much interested in the program for future use of Rostov Arena for events of various scales. The journalists went on a sightseeing tour and studied the changes in the infrastructure and look of the city as it prepared for hosting the World Cup. The guests also studied the capabilities of DonExpocenter Exhibition and Congress Center.
The program of the visit to Sochi, organized by the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Sochi and Reinfo Company, consisted of the business part — visits to congress venues — and a tour of active recreation and entertainment infrastructure facilities. As part of the business program the guests visited Roza Hall multifunctional concert venue, which was hosting an international event at the time. This allowed the guests to see the capabilities and the scale of the venue in practice. The tour participants visited Fisht Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Park as well as the Main Media Center.
Since the infrastructure in Sochi allows combining business events and leisure activities, media representatives had a chance to visit the best venues and entertainment centers of the city, which included visits to Galaktika Entertainment Center, Skypark Aj Hackett Adventure Park and other entertainment infrastructure sites. The guests also took an aerial lift to the height of 2,320 meters, went on a car safari to the Psakho Canyon and the Mount of Akhun. The guests of the tour noted the many opportunities the region offers for combining business programs and outdoor activities, and praised the professionalism and hospitality of the host country.
Alexey Kalachev, the Director of the Russian Convention Bureau, said: «As we are working on shaping the positive image of Russia as a promising destination for international events, we will continue the practice of arranging press tours and visits of buyers to regions with the most potential in our industry. Strategic agreements with state bodies of authority at the regional level and the support of members of the Russian Convention Bureau at the local level allows us to organize such roadshows at the very highest level of quality.»
