The Russian Far East – At the Centre of Events

13 September 2018

The Russian Far East – At the Centre of Events

KEY CONCLUSIONS

Event tourism can become a driver of economic growth

“Events can become a driver for the growth of the entire region, not only the economy, but also the development of the city itself, the region, etc.,” Vasily Grebennikov, Deputy General Director, Far East Development Fund.

“The economy of event tourism can make a substantial contribution to the country’s national wealth: China already has 3% of the economy, which equals to USD 700 billion – this is the tourism industry,” Alexey Muratov, Partner, KB Strelka.

“Events change the world in many ways. We consider the events that take place in different countries, primarily for the economic effect, both for the budget of the country and the region and for the business that is in the event industry,” Alexey Kalachev, Chief Executive Officer, Russia Convention Bureau.

The state of infrastructure is an essential factor in the development of event tourism

“Probably, there is no direct correlation between the quality of life and the comfort of the urban environment on the one hand, and the rate and success of the event industry on the other, but there is a great deal of interdependence,” Alexey Muratov, Partner, KB Strelka.

“There are several criteria the organizers of an event take into account. First of all, it is the availability of infrastructure, it is transport logistics, and it is the culture of nations and regions, potential sites for events, the availability of hotels. <…> These criteria are decisive,” Alexey Kalachev, Chief Executive Officer, Russia Convention Bureau.

The Far East successfully develops the event business

“Over the past four years, Vladivostok has risen from 10th to 6th place in the rating of event activity of the regions and has maintained this position for two years,” Alexey Kalachev, Chief Executive Officer, Russia Convention Bureau.

“The number of events we host is growing, from about 100, which took place immediately after the opening of the university, we have already reached a figure of over 300 events per year, of which more than 80 are with international participation. This is for the university site only,” Nikita Anisimov, Rector, Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU).

PROBLEMS

Lack of necessary infrastructure

“Russia takes up 0.8% of the global volume of the event business. Unfortunately, this is the reality. <…> We need a professional exhibition and congress centre (in the Far East – Ed.). In Russia, there are only six to eight cities that have such centres,” Sergey Selivanov, Head of the Exhibitions Department, the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

“We have already curtailed almost eight exhibitions because there is nowhere to hold them. <…> We have been talking about the construction of an event centre for ten years now, and things are still not moving,” Vera Yermilova, General Director, Dalexpocenter LLC.

SOLUTIONS

Provide a comfortable urban environment

“The effect, which is as important for cities, is that not only the tourist is attracted, the external participant, people interested in certain events, but also that the cities improve for the residents, the cities become interesting for locals,” Evgeny Podshivalov, Deputy General Director, Monotowns Development Fund.

“To attract the most creative and valuable specialists, they need to provide them with conditions for maximizing their potential,” Vasily Grebennikov, Deputy General Director, Far East Development Fund.

“I wanted to emphasize the importance of not only the congress and exhibition activities, but such events that make young people believe that they are in the capital of a cultural region,” Ekaterina Belyaeva, Head of the Digital Art educational programme, FEFU.

Development of international cooperation

“We have a common border with the Russian Far East, and we need to develop this border zone together, we must create jobs, through joint development solve the issue of population outflow. We must act together through the development of the regional economy,” Wang Ping, Chairman, China Chamber of Tourism.

Training tourism specialists

“Six million people are living in the Russian Far East, and 160 million people in the north-eastern provinces of China. Why not sent this flow to the Far East? We need to create a training base for managers and specialists of the tourism industry and have it established in the Far East,” Wang Ping, Chairman, China Chamber of Tourism.

Exchange of best practices between regions

“We are happy to integrate event concepts, findings, off-the-shelf solutions from the Russian regions to our Relevant Solutions Store. As of today, we already have 78 ready-made solutions in 17 areas consolidated into five units,” Elena Myakotnikova, Corporate Director, Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

Diversification of exhibition and congress centres operations

“The main goal now is multitasking. Exhibitions would never occupy 100% of any centre. We need congress events, shopping areas, concerts and entertainment activities,” Sergey Selivanov, Head of the Exhibitions Department, the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Russian Far East – At the Centre of Events

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