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Last Day of Europe+Asia Event Forum Opened with Session On Business and Incentive Tourism
24 january ‘14
Last Day of Europe+Asia Event Forum Opened with Session On Business and Incentive Tourism
Business and incentive tourism in modern society are the main segments of the hospitality market, one of the most dynamically developing and profitable industries of the global economy. Industry-related specialists  discussed the key issues of business tourism in the framework of Session “Current State of Business and Incentive Tourism: Volume, Growth Potential and Perspectives for Further Development. Experts Look at Russia”. 
 
The meeting was opened by Ms Lyudmila Ivanova, Chief Executive Officer, CJSC St. Petersburg Express, who emphasised that Europe+Asia Event Forum was a unique event, since the Forum’s format enabled to unite the issues of MICE industry and Exhibition and Congress industry within one event and venue.
 
Ms Tatyana Bykadorova, Director, Agency for Tourism Industry Development – Council for Tourism of the Rostov Region, told about the focus on business tourism as an effective development strategy. According to T. Bykadorova, convention bureaus and formation of a congress and tourism cluster are the main tools for the hospitality area development. 
 
In addition, it became possible to establish Skype connection with Mr Sumate Sudasna, President of Thailand Incentive and Conference Association, who made a presentation on development trends and incentive tourism in Thailand.
 
Mr Aleksandr Shapkin, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Tourism Development in St. Petersburg, made a highly informative report where he told in detail about the situation in St. Petersburg congress tourism and development prospects. Currently, the city possesses a developed infrastructure, higher educational institutions in the area of tourism for personnel training, congress and exhibition venues, hotels for accommodation of business tourists. Of course, St. Petersburg’s position is a little lower than that of event industry leaders, such as Vienna, Paris and Barcelona, but the city’s government have been making its great efforts to develop the congress cluster, to improve the service quality, to increase the number of congress venues. Thus, now there are already investors for construction of at least three congress centres.
 
Ms Yelena Kovyazina, Senior Specialist of Attestation of Business and Conference Hotels Programme, Business Tourism Association, continued the Session topic and presented to the meeting participants the data of the survey on business tourists’ requirements to hotels.
During his speech Mr Andrey Suleykov, Managing Partner of Appreal LLC, provided highly relevant and interesting information on mobile applications for participants of congress, exhibition and business events. 
 
The analysis, peculiarities and trends of the Russian MICE & Business travel market development were covered by Ms Aleksandra Zager, Editor-in-Chief of Business Travel Magazine. Ms Zager presented the data of the survey on TOP-10 areas for MICE in Russia, except Moscow. 
The session was closed by Mr Vladislav Shulayev, Director for Promotion of Territories, AGT Communications Agency, who paid attention to Moscow and St. Petersburg in the international business and tourism ratings. As early as in 2012, Moscow was at position 72.