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The exhibition featured 787 companies from 40 Russian regions and 14 different countries
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Over 7,200 trade visitors attended in person
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The exhibition featured 30 business events with over 170 speakers and 2.800 participants
This year’s OTDYKH Leisure fair was a raging success with over 7200 trade attendees, and exhibitions featuring more than 787 companies from 40 Russian regions and 14 different countries.
The 28th edition of the OTDYKH Leisure Fair celebrated several newcomers to the event, including Venezuela national flag carrier Conviasa, the Chukotka region, the Chuvash Republic, and Bryansk and Belgorod regions. Additionally, the Venezuelan Ministry of Tourism Venetur returned to the exhibition after a 10-year hiatus.
Also, for the first time in Moscow, a new interregional route, the "Great Ural" was presented at the exhibition. The project goal is to develop different types of tourism in five Russian regions: Sverdlovsk, Perm, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk and the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The opening ceremony of the expo was attended by notable people, including an official delegation led by Ms. Zarina Doguzova, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism.
Esteemed guests included Mr. Ismail Amer, Egyptian Tourism Counselor; Mr. Artur Abdrashitov, minister of tourism of the Samara Region; Mr. Sergey Korneyev, chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development; as well as representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Russia and the Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya in Moscow, among others.
The three-day fair was also an opportunity for important meetings, negotiations and business communication at the exhibitor stands. Ms. Zarina Doguzova held meetings with Mr. Ali Ernesto Padrón Paredes, Venezuela’s minister of tourism; Mr. Juan Carlos Garcia Granda, Cuba’s minister of tourism; and Hon. Dr. Bandula Gunawardana, Sri Lanka’s minister of Transport.
Highlights of the 2022 OTDYKH Leisure Fair
During the fair, many official agreements were signed and important announcements were made public.
Representatives from the Samara region signed a number of agreements, one of which was between the region’s ministry of tourism and shipping company “Volga Travel” to further develop high-speed passenger ship program “Valdai-45R”.
In addition, Venezuela’s ministry of tourism announced that it will open a representative office in Russia and that Conviasa airline will fly directly to Margarita Island.
"Russian customers will be able to use their Mir cards in Cuba, we will implement this by the end of the year,” said Juan Carlos Garcia Granda, Cuba’s Minister of Tourism.
The Leisure business program was a great success: all the venues where sessions and discussions took place were fully booked. Business Programme In total, the business programme included 30 business events with over 170 speakers and 2800 visitors. One of the main business events was the strategic session “How do We Achieve Sustainability and Stability in Tourism?” The discussion centered on different measures taken to support the industry and their effectiveness. The Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Ms. Elena Lysenkova said the agency is working to create comfortable conditions for traveling in the country, stimulate investment and consumer activity, and launch new routes.
In another exciting session, “Inbound tourism in the current conditions: directions and factors for attracting foreign tourist flow,” discussions focused on mechanisms for attracting foreign tourists. Federal Agency for Tourism, tour operators, among others participated in those discussions. Among the foreign speakers were Mr. Rajan Sehgal, chairman of the Travel Agents Association of India and Mr. Abdulmonem Alali, CEO of Alsyahi Saudi Arabia.
Speakers discussed how tourism in the Russian Federation has declined sharply, and how it is extremely important to make entry into Russia simple and understandable for foreign guests. In particular, it is important to launch an electronic visa.
Entertainment Programme
The entertainment program of OTDYKH Leisure 2022 was well-attended and a popular part of the fair.
Participants took a virtual tour called “Flight over the city Khanty-Mansiysk”, visited thermal baths at the stand of the Tyumen region, and rode a ski simulator and communicate with a robotic employee of the Perm Region.
There were also opportunities to win prizes and awards, and taste national drinks and gastronomic specialties at various foreign and Russian stands.
Another special highlight was the ZimaParty sponsored by Visit Kuzbass. It included an evening reception with music, drinks, food and a drawing of prizes provided by Kuzbass Tourism Agency.
Partners and Sponsors of the OTDYKH Leisure Fair
The OTDYKH Leisure Fair also had an impressive number of partners this year. The expo was proud to boast Egypt as its partner country this year with a phenomenal stand and large delegation. The partner city was St. Petersburg and the fair’s official partner was the Samara Region. The event’s strategic partner was sletat.ru, and the event’s educational partner was MGIMO University. Lastly, Novosibirsk was the partner of New Year's capital of Russia.
The event also had numerous sponsors. The Leningrad region sponsored the opening ceremony of the exhibition, while Visit Kuzbass sponsored ZimaParty.
The business programme sponsors included the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, Visit Ugra, the companies Bnovo and Travelline.
After such a successful year, next year’s fair is bound to bring more exciting exhibits, sponsors and partners. Save the date for ОТДЫХ Leisure 2023 which will take place 12-14 September 2023 in Expocentre Fairgrounds!
04.10.2022