THE number of outbound trips taken by Russian tourists increased by 14 per cent in 2010. As more Russians start to explore worldwide destinations, outbound tourism is expected to demonstrate stable growth in departures, with a six per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) during 2011. Participating at the Moscow International Tourism and Travel exhibition (MITT) is an efficient method for global destinations to promote their countries and build awareness amongst the local tourism trade and consumers. The exhibition takes place from March 21-24, 2012, at the Expocentre, Moscow. For many international destinations, Russia represents a huge potential market to target a vast population, and to discover the latest destinations available to the Russian outbound tourist market.
The destinations that Russians visited from April-September 2011, compared to the same period in 2010 demonstrated that Thailand had a huge growth of 109 per cent, with the following summer resorts also showing a strong increase. Cyprus reported a 54 per cent increase, Greece 50 per cent, Italy 36 per cent, Montenegro 35 per cent and Croatia 33 per cent. Business departures also increased by 14 per cent in 2010. Air departures accounted for a 47 per cent share of the total number of outbound trips. The growing share of outbound trips can be explained by the widening choice of low cost carriers and destinations that make outbound trips more affordable and accessible to the Russian middle class.
At MITT 2012, the Palau Tourism Board will exhibit for the first time. The luxury sector at MITT has also increased, as many luxury hotels and service providers expressing their interest to participate at MITT, due to Russian tourists outnumbering Europeans in many luxurious resorts.
For the first time, MITT 2012 will be hosting a sea cruising conference on March 22, 2012 in Moscow, which will attract key international companies to meet a specialised audience. The conference will run alongside MITT. In 2011 over 3,000 companies from 189 countries and regions exhibited at the exhibition in 2011 to 79,930 visitors over four days from 479 Russian cities and 95 countries. The conference has been launched in response to the growth of the sector, and will cover the integration of domestic tourism into the global cruise market and the development of the cruise market in Russia.
Head of sales, Travel Division, ITE Group, Maria Badakh, commented, “MITT has taken place for the past 19 years and is well established in the travel calendar for professionals. MITT provides the platform for exhibitors to learn more about the Russian markets travel requirements and where the investment opportunities can be found”.