Travel Notes

Just 1% of all tourists traveling worldwide are traveling to Russia, reported Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Strzhalkovsky. This sorry fact calls for new approaches to promoting Russia as a tourist destination.

One-third of tourists visiting Russia in 1999 came from countries beyond the former USSR, and they spent just $374 mn. By comparison, tourism brought Hungary some $2.4 bn, the Czech Republic $3.6 bn and Poland $6.1 bn in 1999.

“The country suffers from a catastrophic shortage of 2- and 3-star hotels to be able to host tourists on a large scale,” Strzhalkovsky said. The Ministry plans to push for the opening of 2- and 3-star hotels in top-visited Golden Ring cities like Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Rostov.

Meanwhile, efforts to advertise Russia will be stepped up. Last year, the Czech Republic allocated $2.5 mn to promote their country as a tourist destination, while Spain and Israel spent $25 mn and $72 mn, respectively. Yet Russia spent just $140,000 on these ends. The plan forsees the launch of radio and TV promotional programs, plus the opening of an as-yet-unspecified internet website to offer tourist information. In addition, brochures, maps and posters will be sent to travel agencies and exhibitions around the world. Such information will also be sent to tourist information centers in Russian cities which host large numbers of tourists.

Minister of Economic Development German Gref said that tourism is very important for Russia’s economy, which has become too dependent on raw-material. The draft plan was presented on May 29, will be reviewed until July 15, and will then be sent for the government’s consideration in the third quarter of this year.

In aNOTHER move to boost inbound tourism, the Russian Foreign Ministry has begun a new experiment with short-term (72 hour) visas to be issued at the border. Apparently the lobbying for the new class of visa was begun by authorities in St. Petersburg, who see huge potential for quick business and tourist trips by residents of nearby European cities. The fee for the new visa is expected to be set at $25 and be available in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Moscow. This visa will only allow visitors to travel within the city of issue.

The lyrics to the famous contemporary pop song Malchik khochet v Tambov (“The boy wants to go to Tambov”) may have to be rewritten. The song, sung by Nasyr Muratov, claims that “neither planes nor even trains” would go to such a remote corner. And yet, the British company Premier Group plans to spend $10 million to build a new hotel complex—Rakhmaninov Premier—in the central Russian city. The company sees this as a pilot project in their larger plans to build a chain of 3- and 4-star hotels and class-A business centers in major Russian cities.

On May 8, Aeroflot signed a contract with Bovis Lend Lease International Ltd. for the design and construction of the new Sheremetevo-3 Air Terminal in Moscow. According to Aeroflot Deputy General Director Alexander Zurabov, the choice of Bovis Groupe at the tender is logical—the company is one of the world’s best airport developers and has just completed construction of airports in Sydney, Lilles and Palma de Majorca. The project will be finished by early 2004, with costs estimated at $250-$300 mn. Aeroflot will assume approximately 15% of the project financing. The new terminal will help the city become a major transit center between Europe and Asia. Sheremetevo-1 was opened in 1959 and Sheremetevo-2 was built for the 1980  Moscow Olympics. Today, the two terminals serve some 9 mn passengers a year. By 2005, traffic is expected to increase to 16-18 mn, with Sheremetevo-3 alone servicing 8-10 mn passengers a year.

The Russian government plans to boost ailing civil aircraft production, putting more than 1,000 new planes into service by 2015, deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said recently. Klebanov announced the government’s decision to double state support for civilian aviation from R1.2 bn ($41 mn) to R2.4 bn ($82 mn) in 2002. Meanwhile, observers noted that the subsidies would not go far—a medium-range Tu-204 costs about $30 mn to produce.