Inayat-ur-Rahman, Senior Staff Reporter

The Arabian Travel Market 2019, entered its second day on Monday. A cross-section of exhibitors share their candid views with Gulf Today. St. Petersburg:  Participating for the third time at the Arabian Travel Market 2019, the St. Petersburg, Russia pavilion highlighted all aspects of leisure, MICE, luxury, recreational and health and wellness tourism. As a special focus this year, St. Petersburg will also showcase their foray into its new ‘Luxury Russia’ offerings that will centre around the symbolic, historical and cultural aspects of Russia. The stand is located at Hall 7 booth EU 5950.

“The Middle East is soon becoming an important part of our tourism business and we understand the need to be present at Arabian Travel Market. As a leading event in the travel and tourism market, it helps us build our network of partners and associates. More so, this year as we are targeting high profile travelers from the luxury segment as our research indicates that they contribute quite heavily to the frequency as well as the spending habits while visiting St. Petersburg,” said, Olga Redino, Deputy General Director & Vice Head of Saint Petersburg Convention Bureau.

“Our Luxury Tourism Association is a unique project in Russia which creates the platform for premium and luxury customers to can avail of exclusive experiences and truly customized service of an exceptional quality while travelling in Russia.

Saint Petersburg is a real gem in Russian Luxury travel collection where our guests can get genuinely unique experience of amazing art, culture, white nights, open bridges,” said, Marina Morozova — Head of National Tourism of Russian Federation in the Middle East Dubai UAE / CEO Luxury Travel Association.

“As a representative office for Visit St. Petersburg Dubai we have the responsibility to market Saint Petersburg and Russia as whole in the Middle East and are extremely excited about their participation at Arabian Travel Market. ATM provides a perfect platform to reach out to B2B and B2C sector at the same time with regional access points. We also see a lot of positives after visa relaxation for Emiratis from Russia,” said, Harmeek Singh, Chairman, Visit St. Petersburg for Middle East Region.

St. Petersburg has been actively developing tourism over the last few years. As an award-winning destination, St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It has been awarded the World’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2018 as well as Europe’s Leading Cruise Destination and Europe’s Leading Heritage Destination 2018 by World Travel Awards.

North Caucasus: The number of tourist arrivals into North Caucasus Federal district in Russia has been steadily increasing year on year.

This is in direct correlation to the strategic, economic, geographical and transit potential that it is endowed with. Coupled with its rich tourist resources, it is the determining factor for the ongoing development of tourism in the region and is a priority for the district.

Speaking on the participation at Arabian Travel Market 2019, Aristov Stainslav – Russia, Moscow, Charitable Foundation for Social and Charity Projects, Visit Caucasus – Director General, said, “We are aware of the huge potential that the North Caucasus Federal district has. At the moment, active work is being done on the organization of travel, including all forms of nature tourism, in which the main motivation of tourists is observation and introduction to nature while striving to preserve it. We take this opportunity to showcase the multi-faceted aspects of tourism in the district and are keen to see more tourist arrivals from the Middle East.”

North Caucasus Federal district has nine ski resorts, 68 ski lifts and 108 skiing tracks, the total length of which is about 185 kilometers. A characteristic feature of the ski resorts of the Russian Federation, and in particular the North Caucasus Federal district, is their location in close proximity to specially protected natural areas.

Leva Hotels: Leva Hotels made their debut presence at the Arabian Travel Market 2019 in Dubai, showcasing their newly unveiled 4-star property on Sheikh Zayed Road. Leva has emerged as one of the leading players in the hospitality segment bringing a fresh thought and approach to engage with today’s millennial traveller.

“ATM is a great opportunity for hoteliers and hospitality professionals to engage extensively with clients and make their presence felt in the industry. We would like to invite visitors of ATM including guests, travel agents and mice executives to get a sneak-peak into the essence of LEVA as a brand and our newly launched LEVA Mazaya Centre.” J.S. Anand, Founder of LEVA Hotels said.