INWETEX-CIS Travel Market 2009: time to sum up the results of summer season

For the seventeenth year the results of summer season will be summed up at the INWETEX-CIS Travel Market 2009 Trade Fair that will take place this year on October 14-16 in St. Petersburg. Now when the summer season 2009 is running higher and higher and millions of Russians are preparing for the long-awaited vacation, the travel companies are in active preparation for the autumn and winter season 2009-2010.

How is St. Petersburg going through its first crisis season? What mood do professionals have for preparation for the winter season? The answers for these and other questions will be given at the INWETEX-CIS Travel Market 2009 Fair. Its uniqueness is not only in many-sidedness of its exposition, but also in the large business programme - Tourism and Resorts Forum. The Forum meetings will be devoted to the travel market of Russia and its capabilities in the new circumstances.

Despite the hard times for the whole industry the Czech Republic will present an expanded exposition at the event, Prague will have a separate stand. Geographic expansion can be seen this year: as for today 85 companies from 20 countries of the world have already confirmed their participation in the event (Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Tunis, Egypt, Thailand, Finland, Slovenia and others)

Among large tour operators that will participate in the exhibition 2009 are: Aerotravel-Club, Anex Tour, Aurinkomatkat, Calypso, Tez Tour, Versa, Jet Travel SPb, Zlata Praga, Capital Tour, Natali Tours, Nika Tour Operator, Neva, Nevo Style. Club, Russky Express, PACTOUR, Petropolitana, Petrotourservice, Saint-Petersburg Council for Tourism and Excursions, Solvex, Soleans, Expo-Tour, Etoile, Uzhny Krest and others.

Note:

469 travel companies from 39 countries opened their stands on the area of 8,100 sq m in 2008. Regional administrations and municipal departments of Russia and the CIS countries took part in INWETEX-CIS TRAVEL MARKET 2008: Administration for Tourism of the St. Petersburg Committee for Investments and Strategic Projects; Committee for Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of Leningrad Regional Administration; Moscow Committee for Tourism; Committee for International Relations and Tourism Development of Archangelsk Regional Administration; Administration of Vladimir Region; Ministry for Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan; Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Karelia; Economic Development Department of Murmansk Region, Committee for Culture and Tourism of Novgorod Regional Administration; Pskov Regional Administration; Tourism Development Department of Samara Region; Culture Department of Smolensk Region; Information and Tourist Center of Tyumen Region; Committee for Tourism of Khanty-Mansijsk Autonomous District; Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Government; Administration for Culture and Tourism of Lvov Municipal Council; Narva Municipal Department.

The 2009 Fair will feature participation of such major tour operators as Aerotravel-Club, ICS, Meteors Travel, Neva Travel, Tez Tour North West, West Travel, Versa, Calypso World of Travel, Capital Tour, Natali Tours, Solvex - Tour, TransBusiness line, Uzhny Krest and others.

The number of foreign participating companies reached the next maximum value: 120 foreign companies from 38 countries were represented at the Exhibition in 2008 and national offices and travel departments of Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Finland, India, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey, Norway, Thailand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia gathered the best representatives of the travel industry of their countries. National offices of Panama and Dominican Republic took part in the Exhibition for the first time.

Business Travel – Business Card of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the most European city of Russia. It holds a special place in the country's life, and, being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is used as a venue for international forums, congresses, meetings, symposiums, conferences and exhibitions, which reveals a good possibility of Business Travel development.

"Window to Europe", "Northern Venice", "Cultural Capital" are all Saint-Petersburg, the city that appeared in 1703 by will of Peter the Great and became a symbol of new Russia. St. Petersburg is the biggest center of the world and Russian culture where unique cultural and historical heritage is accumulated.

Today along with its amazing architecture and the worldwide known cultural sights St. Petersburg is the biggest economic and scientific center that makes it a unique place for business tourism allowing to combine active work with rich cultural programme.

The city on the Neva River is conducting active foreign economic activities: over 700 big and medium enterprises with foreign investments are working in St. Petersburg. Cooperation with partner cities takes an important place in the external relations of St. Petersburg. Today it has 52 such partner cities due to the developed travel infrastructure. Over 300 various forums and exhibitions are held in the Northern Capital on an annual basis. Many of them are of international importance and held with the support of St. Petersburg Government.

As for today tourism development is one of the economic policy priorities of St. Petersburg Administration. INWETEX - CIS TRAVEL MARKET Fair makes a significant contribution to the improvement of business and cultural image of the city and promotes further development of the travel industry of the Northern Capital

Long-term experience of holding Tourism and Resorts Forum and the INWETEX - CIS TRAVEL MARKET Fair shows high effectiveness of these events as an important marketing instrument for travel product created in Russia and different countries of the world.

In 2009 MICE Industry, the 3rd Specialised Exhibition will take place concurrently with INWETEX-CIS Travel Market 2009 aiming to support the priority direction in tourism. Its purpose is to unite the leaders of congress services in St. Petersburg and to create its own platform for communication with potential customers as well as for presentation of abilities of the market players.

The exhibitors will be provided with the opportunity to participate in the Annual International Conference on Congress and Business Travel Industry. Traditionally, the world leading specialists of business travel industry, off-site corporate events, team-building and incentive trips will deliver speeches at the Conference, and that always attracts attention of travel industry experts from all over Russia.

Organizers of incentive trips, trainings, business travel operators, organisers of business events and congresses, car rental representatives, hotels and hotel networks, congress and business centers, specialised mass media are invited to participate in the Exhibition.

SPAS JUBILEE EXHIBITION

Year 2009 is the year of the 290th anniversary since opening of the first Russian resort by Peter the Great and the jubilee year for the SPAS Specialised Exhibition that celebrates its fifteenth anniversary on October 14-16.

Traditionally during 15 years the Exhibition presents the potential of Russian and foreign companies engaged in health and resort activity to the domestic and international travel market. In the jubilee year new tasks are set to the Exhibition. The key objective is to draw experts' and visitors' attention to the market of domestic tourism, to promote development of sanatorium and resort companies during the financial and economic crisis period.

Integrating efforts aimed to promote resort business, creating a unique exposition, most fully showing the opportunities of resort, health and treatment recreation, making the base for communication between the experts of the industry and travel professionals are to strengthen the ties between the representatives of health resorts of the world countries and Russia and provide the resort industry with the support in the field of nation sanitation.
Resorts, sanatoriums, boarding houses, recreation bases, spa-hotels, specialised publications devoted to health and therapeutic activities as well as recreation opportunities are among the exhibitors.

The Exhibition plans include:

• expansion of exposition;
• formation of such new specialised sections as Children Balneology and Recreation and Treatment;
• extensive business program devoted to the 15th anniversary exhibition and the anniversary of opening the first Russian health resort;
• Russian resorts presentation;
• providing new opportunities for strengthening social, cultural and international relations within the frameworks of the events held along with the SPAS Exhibition: the 17th INWETEX-CIS Travel Market 2009 International Travel Trade Fair and the 9th Tourism and Resorts Forum;
• Special conditions of participation in the SPAS and Leisure without Borders. Winter 2009 Exhibitions are in effect for the sanatorium and resort companies

In 2008 62 sanatorium and resort companies took part in the Fair, including representatives of 4 countries (Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine and Estonia).

Administration of Kavkazkieje Mineralnye Vody (Caucasian Mineral Waters), North-West Spas Association, TruskavetsKurort, Dagomys, Gelendzhik Non-Profit Partnership are among regular participants of this section. Stands of a number of sanatoriums (Rossijanka, Jan, Named after Zuryupa, Rus, Seliger, Konstantinova Usadba (Konstantin's Manor), Repino Boutique Hotel and others) as well as the united stand of Sochi Municipal Administration, the future capital of Olympic Games 2014, were presented for the first time in 2008.

Over 10,000 people visited the SPAS Exhibition and the INWETEX-CIS Travel Market Travel Trade Fair in 2008.