At a time when Russia is endeavoring to change people’s perception that the country may not be safe to travel amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, the announcement of holding the sixth edition of OTOAI Annual Convention in Moscow has come like the most wishful opportunity for tourism fraternity of Russia.
While announcing the dates of the Convention in New Delhi, in the august presence of delegates from the Moscow City Tourism Committee, Himanshu Patil, President, OTOAI, elaborated on the salient features and objective of the Convention in details. He feels that the upcoming Convention will be fostering new ties and enhance the tourist traffic between these two nations.
“The Convention aims to boost number of Indian travellers to Moscow, while highlight its diverse offerings to Indian outbound market with a focus on MICE tourism and establish a perception of Moscow as a safe and vibrant destination for Indians. Undoubtedly, Moscow is a friendly and very safe place to travel,” said Patil while speaking on the importance of the Convention.
On being asked about the number of delegates expected to attend the Convention, he informed that almost 150 potential and leading tour operators will attend the event, and it will be grand success in terms of partnerships and networking. Power packed business sessions will brainstorm around the challenges and opportunities in tourism.
Delegates of Moscow City Tourism Committee underlined the importance of the Indian market and said that they expect the Convention to significantly boost the number of Indian visitors to Moscow as well as to other parts of the country.
Having received just about 85,000 tourists from India, the country remains in top three markets for Russia. Speaking more on this, Anastasia Popova, Head of Business Tourism Development Department, Moscow City Tourism Committee, said: “We understand that this number is not very impressive, that is why we are endeavoring to engage in much more activities in India, organising awareness campaigns, and FAM trips for potential buyers from India.”
She strongly feels that “OTOAI Convention is a great opportunity to showcase the real beauty of Moscow City, it’s so safe and ready for tourism. Through this Convention, the tour operators will be able to have a firsthand experience and current situation in Russia.”
OTOAI’s Vice President, Shravan Bhalla, has been appointed as the Convention Chairman. While elaborating on the salient feature and format of the Convention, Bhalla said: “The three-day event will facilitate a great opportunity to engage in brainstorming sessions, product awareness and networking followed by a post-FAM trip to Saint Petersburg for all delegates.”
Team OTOAI is constantly working on the content of the business sessions and theme of the convention.
Speaking about the Convention destination, Bhalla further said: “As far as the Convention is concerned, we always look for out of the box destination, which needs little bit of a boost and then we are on it. Finalizing Moscow as the Convention destination took almost one and a half years as the discussion started in the early 2024 with our meetings with Moscow City Tourism Committee,”
According to him, Moscow a vibrant city, offers almost everything an Indian traveller is looking for whether its MICE, luxury, honeymooners, smaller family groups or FITs, it suits to everyone’s need with lovely sightseeing and historical places.
Monia Kapoor, Joint Secretary, OTOAI said, “This convention will open up the key points on the ease of travel to Russia, the ease of visa. And how everything can be arranged internally. So, we are really looking forward to the prospects of giving our members that edge of discovering how they can promote new destination to their clients.”
The OTOAI team adds that the venue of the Convention will be Carlton Hotel, Moscow with Russian flag carrier, Aeroflot, is the partner airline. The OTOAI delegates said that registration for the Convention will shortly be available on OTOAI website, and a detailed programme will be also shared soon.
Delegate Package
The Convention Management Committee has prepared an attractive package for the OTOAI delegates who would be attending the Convention. The cost for attending the Convention in Moscow and a post-event FAM trip to Saint Petersburg starts at INR 79,999, for Active Members of OTOAI.
