The high tourist season in the UAE is coming to an end. Although this country is positioning itself as a year-round tourist destination, both tour operators and travelers are well aware that the best time in the Emirates is from October to May, and there are four months of steady heat and hot water in the sea. A lot of enthusiasts, heat-resistant subjects and just fans of the Emirates, who like the reduced prices in the elite five-star hotels, continue to go to the shores of the Persian Gulf in the summer, but still pulls the rest to Europe and countries with a less aggressive climate.
In anticipation of the “high” season in traditional international summer destinations such as Europe, Turkey and so on, Moscow will host the traditional international tourism and travel exhibition MiTT-2007 for the 14th time. The leading Dubai tour operators, local and international hotel chains represented at the single corporate stand of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai, as well as travel and hotel companies from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, participate in this exhibition every year with unchanged success. It would seem, why do they need it? Or are the representatives of the Emirates travel industry guided by the “prepare your sleigh in summer” rule by signing futures contracts and long-term agreements on MiTT? And not only. The exhibition hosts meetings with old partners, establishes relationships with new and promising companies, discusses all the nuances of cooperation, including pricing and sending, and meeting parties for next season.
Another international exhibition on tourism, called intourmarket, started in Moscow last year and, according to experts, is designed to become a more significant exhibition than MiTT. In addition, Russian legislation has undergone a number of changes relating to tourism and the hotel industry. In this regard, an official delegation headed by Anatoly Yarochkin, deputy director of the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation, consisting of Sergey Kanaev, director of the office of the representative office of the DTCM in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic States and Andrei Malikov, general director of the Moscow travel company Expotour, visited Dubai "The members of the delegation met informally with the leaders of the leading Dubai tour operator companies, mainly working with the markets of Russia and the CIS.
Speaking to the audience, Anatoly Yarochkin, in particular, said: “We came to Dubai for a reason, because in recent years, the United Arab Emirates and, in particular, Dubai have occupied a prominent place in the hierarchy of outbound tourism in Russia. Speaking about 2005, this tenth place and 223 thousand people who visited the UAE for tourist purposes, which is why we would like companies in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to take a more active part in the events that are held today in the Russian tourism industry dderzhke the Russian government. "
Probably, many were surprised by the appearance of a new tourist exhibition intourmarket last year, the dates of which almost coincide with MiTT. I want to immediately explain the following: in 2005, the MiTT exhibition occupied 23 thousand square meters of exhibition space, in 2006 - 19 thousand, this year, according to the organizers, there will be a maximum of 16 thousand meters.
The intourmarket exhibition in the first year of the exhibition occupied only 8 thousand square meters of space, and this year its area will increase to 13 thousand meters. I think that in 2008 intourmarket exhibition space will exceed the size of MiTT. But the point here is not even the size of the exhibition space. The intourmarket exhibition is an exposition that is held with the support of all government structures in Russia. It is enough to say that the first intourmarket exhibition in 2006 was opened by the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Boris Gryzlov. This year’s exhibition will be opened by the country's prime minister. Therefore, intourmarket is the only event in which I propose everyone to take an active part.
I also want to inform all those present that in early January 2007, forty-three companies organized the Association of Russian Tour Operators. These organizations together hold 80% of the Russian tourism market. In addition, all of them initiated the creation of the intourmarket exhibition in 2005. I think that by May, when the first constituent congress of the new Association will be held in the city of Suzdal, it will already have about 60 members, in whose hands will be almost the entire tourism market of Russia. "
Is it only about Moscow tour operators? Does this mean that a new redistribution of the tourist services market in Russia has begun? Anatoly Yarochkin commented on this issue: "Currently, the new Association includes tour operators in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladimir, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk and other cities, such as Intourist, Academ-Service, Tez-Tour, Vladinvest- tour "(Vladivostok)," Spectrum "," Neva "," Russian Express "," Space Travel "and so on. We can say that all regions of the country are represented in the new structure. We are not talking about any redistribution of the market. Just begins the process of forming a normal, civilized market for tourist services. "
These are the latest events that occurred at the beginning of this year.
The most significant events of the past year include the adoption of the law "On the establishment in the Russian Federation of seven free economic zones of a recreational type." We are talking about the Republic of Buryatia, the Irkutsk region (Lake Baikal region), the Altai Republic and the Altai Territory (Western Sayans), Kaliningrad, the Stavropol Territory (the area of the city of Pyatigorsk), Krasnodar Territory (Anapa, Gelendzhik). In fact, the point is not even what tax and other benefits the state provides in these tourist and recreational areas, but the fact that the state invests billions of dollars in the development of the engineering infrastructure of these regions. These are roads, and electricity and water supply, and sewerage, and gas supply. As well as amazing opportunities for investors to create a modern tourist infrastructure.
“I think that during 2007 all the feasibility studies for the seven recreation zones will be completed. And in 2008, state funding for these projects will begin,” said Anatoly Yarochkin.
Well, and probably the most important thing: on January 24, 2007, the Federation Council confirmed the amendments to the law "On Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation". Currently, the amended version of the law is being approved by the President of the country, Vladimir Putin. "According to the regulation, no later than February 8 of this year, he must sign it or reject it. But, judging by how the voting went first in the Duma and then in the Federation Council, I think that this law will be signed by the President. And tourism in Russia The federation will begin to acquire the forms of a civilized market. In order to be entitled as a tour operator, the company will need to have bank or insurance guarantees in the amount of at least 7 million rubles, "said Anatoly Yarochkin. “Today, 2300 organizations have licenses, and half of them are licensed for both tour operator and travel agent activities. I think that with the final adoption of the new law, there will actually be 200-300 tour operators in the market, and the rest of the companies as expected, will be engaged in travel agency activities. "
At the end of the official speeches, we were able to ask a few questions to Anatoly Yarochkin and Sergey Kanaev.
- Anatoly Ivanovich, if we talk about the financial guarantees that Russian tour operators must provide, according to the new law, and about reducing the number of tour operators in Russia, how do you think these changes can affect the work of Dubai travel agencies that are closely related to the markets of Russia and countries CIS?
- I think that local travel companies have many years of established relations with those Russian companies that are not related to travel agencies. Travel agencies from the Emirates work with large tour operators in Russia. And the question with the new law is a long-standing pain. After all, every New Year or on “May holidays” we will certainly not have tourists taken out of any country, then, on the contrary, they will bring them and settle them in the wrong place, or some other problems will arise. This cannot go on for long. Economic transformations in the country took place 17 years ago, and the tourism industry is still a bazaar, not a normal tourism market. On every doghouse anyone can hang a sign "tour operator" and not bear any responsibility. By the way, many raised a cry that the whole market of tourist services will collapse. And what, in fact, is the problem? The average cost of a trip is a thousand dollars. Well, if you can’t guarantee three hundred trips, then what kind of tour operator are you? So you are working in black. If you work "in white", through a bank, then your daily account balances are such that any bank will give you five million rubles of guarantee without unnecessary talk.
- And what gives those 43 companies that you mentioned earlier the creation of a separate Association?
- Well, so far it gives them more responsibility. I believe that these companies acted very correctly and responsibly towards the Russian consumer, separating themselves from travel agencies. They didn’t leave the Russian Union of Travel Industry. They simply stated - we are real tour operators, and are ready to take responsibility for tourists. In the near future, I think, they will create the so-called "self-regulatory organization", and they will insure their activities for a billion rubles. Do you understand how much this is? Not the five to seven million that are required by law. They will take on much greater obligations.
- The main backbone of this Association is made up of large Moscow tour operators? But what about the regions?
- Why, only Moscow? Neva is a St. Petersburg company, there are Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, and so on. The question is this. In America, the USTOa (United States Tour Operators association) has 374 members and 336 members make up the American association of Travel agents. And nothing, live for yourself. Exist. Well, what is a tour operator? If you give an example of a household level, then the tour operator is a bakery, and the travel agent is a bakery. There can be no more bakeries than bakeries. Everything should work proportionally, then there will be sense, and responsibility.
- That is, it turns out that it will be much easier for local tour operators to work than before, and there is nothing to worry about?
“Of course, a lot easier.” They will not need to suffer, and it is not known who to search for "by city and by weight." As a result, all the same, in Russia ten to fifteen large tour operator centers will be formed. How many million-plus cities do we have? Thirteen. These are today the main suppliers of tourists. Of all these million-plus cities, the Association will have its own tour operators. And life will put everything in its place. Everything will fall onto civilized rails, as it should be.
Tourists, by the way, are also alarmed. They began to say that the new requirements for tour operators will lead to more expensive trips. Nothing like this. Do you know, for example, how much it costs to stay in any Dubai five-star hotel? No matter what price you are called, a Russian tour operator is obliged to sell the hotel cheaper, not more expensive. Therefore, local tour operators have nothing to fear, but tourists will be more protected. There will be additional guarantees that the tourist will be returned to their homeland. And then we have the same problems from season to season. For example, in Spain, the charter program of some supposedly “tour operator” ends, and the last plane does not arrive. He must fly empty to pick up tourists from the country. A "tour operator" is not profitable. So people begin to shove on regular flights. It's time to take up the mind and restore order.
I will tell you this. I came to tourism in 1978, started working at Intourist. And when we started a charter program from London to Moscow in 1991, we were immediately asked about the frequency of flights, the type of aircraft and other parameters. We replied that we would fly once a week, there and back, on the IL-86. We were told: "Great. Contribute to the British Travel stabilization fund £ 650,000 (a million dollars at the time) and fly to your health." And everything is simple. "You will carry British tourists, right?" - "Yes". “If something happens, we will have money to take our citizens home. Send them another plane.” And no one asked any more questions. For us, for some reason, everything is not so. So you need to change something. And we are changing.
We asked Sergey Georgievich Kanayev, General Director of the office-representative office of DTKM in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic countries for comments on the participation of Dubai companies in the two proposed exhibits.
- Sergey Georgievich, what, in your opinion, is the fundamental difference between the new intourmarket exhibition and the usual mitt? And which one will the Dubai Government Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing choose for participation?
- I think that it would be more correct to find out the opinion of Dubai tour operators. But as a comment, I want to say that the intourmarket exhibition is a Russian national project, which is under the patronage of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency, and is given appropriate importance. The tourism industry is one of the most significant in the world, therefore the concept of the intourmarket exhibition is in line with modern trends in the development of this type of activity.
In addition, such important factors as things like the location of the exhibition, the ability to get there by public or private transport become important factors. MiTT is traditionally held in the exhibition center on Krasnaya Presnya, and the intourmarket will be located in the new Crocus Expo center, which is located on the Moscow Ring Road. In my opinion, the Crocus Expo exhibition halls are more modern. They were built taking into account the needs of both exhibitors and visitors. The pavilions are very spacious, bright, comfortable. They provide good nutrition. Huge areas are reserved for registration desks inside and for parking cars outside. The main problem of Crocus Expo is the availability of Moscow city transport. Getting there is not very convenient. But the issue is being resolved, because soon the metro line should approach it, and the station will be located directly on the territory of the exhibition complex. It is also planned to build new road junctions. Therefore, if we talk today, then in terms of location, Krasnaya Presnya has unconditional advantages.
As for DTCM participation, our concept of participation or non-participation in a particular exhibition is based on what choice tour operators will make. We cannot force anyone to participate in one exposition and not to participate in another. And what exhibition will "win" this year, I think, Dubai tour operators will determine for themselves quickly enough.
- And yet, in your opinion, how will the situation develop?
- I believe that in 2007 we will participate in both expositions. But in what ratio, it’s difficult to say so far. Since intourmarket has a great opportunity to interact with regional structures, one of the features of this exhibition in 2007 will be that thousands of travel agencies from different regions of Russia will be invited to it at the expense of state funds. This is the only precedent of this kind.A commercial company, such as the organizer of the MiTT exhibition, cannot afford this. This factor, in my opinion, should be of interest to Dubai travel agencies. And then - time will tell.
During the visit, members of the Russian delegation also met with the leaders of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai, where they discussed issues of further bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism and hotel business. Perhaps with the improvement of Russian legislation, a lot will go in a new way. See you at the exhibitions.
