In the pursuit of enhancing its competitiveness in the tourism sector, Russia has opened its national tourism promotion office, Visit Russia, in the UAE. The opening ceremony was held at the Kempinski Hotel Palm Jumeirah on December 9th in the presence of Sergei Korneev, the Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism, Gocha Buachidze, Consul-General of the Russian Federation in Dubai and Northern Emirates, Mohamed Al Noori, Director of the Corporate Marketing and Relations Department of Dubai Municipality and Dr. Igor Egorov, Chairman of the Russian Business Council, as well as representatives from the tourism industry and media.

Visit Russia office activities are supported by the Russian Business Council in the Middle East and Africa, RBC, within a strategic partnership aimed at promoting more business and leisure travel to Russia from the Middle East. The partnership agreement between Visit Russia and RBC was signed yesterday, stipulating cooperation in developing domestic tourism in Russia, promoting national tourist products, and raising awareness of residents in the UAE about this diverse destination.

Sergei Korneev talked about the goals and expectations of this project, saying, "The opening of the Visit Russia office will promote tourist products of Russia, raise the trust in our tourist service and form a positive image of Russia. It is expected to contribute to the already strong ties and successful relations between Russia and the UAE on all levels; it will be a bridge that facilitates interaction not only in tourism but also culture and business. There is a number of reasons why Russia is an attractive destination for travellers from the Middle East. Flight connections to many cities, cultural sights, a different range of hotels, culinary delights, and beautiful nature, to name a few."

Dr. Igor Egorov, said, "Business travellers will constitute a major part of tourists from the UAE. The Russian Business Council is actively involved in facilitating trade missions to Russian cities, discovering investment and trade opportunities beyond the capital. Following successful trips to Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, we are planning to cover the new routes, which will include Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi and other regions. Travelling to Russia has become even more appealing now as tourists can spend twice less for the great product due to the advantageous currency rate."

Russia has a lot to offer to the international community residing in the UAE and Middle East. It has quickly emerged as a unique travel destination with modern infrastructure, new outstanding hotels and of course the traditional hospitality, enormous cultural and gastronomical variety, unrivalled natural richness stretching 10,000 km from west to east and 4,000 km from north to south. A new offering to local tourists are halal-certified routes and hospitality, and tours on Islamic heritage. The upcoming football World Cup in 2018 will be another great occasion to visit several Russian cities, which are already revamping their infrastructure ahead of the most popular sports event on the planet.
Source: WAM