Russia opens tourism promotion office

Visit Russia office activities are supported by the Russian Business Council in Middle East

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; Mohammad 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 promoting national tourist products and raising awareness of residents in the UAE about this 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 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...

“Travelling to Russia has become even more appealing now as tourists can spend [half as much] for the great product due to the advantageous currency rate.”