An open discussion on the explosive development of the country's tourism market, taking into account current trends, as well as the legislative initiatives, strategies and practical tools necessary for this, took place on October 11 at the Sochi Casino.
The strategic development of Russian tourist territories was discussed by Dmitry Vakhrukov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR); Mikhail Ivanov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; Goncharov Nikolay, Deputy General Director of Kavkaz.RF; Vadim Tretyakov, Minister of Investment and Development of the Sverdlovsk Region; Igor Bukharov, President of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia (FRiO); Arievich Grigory, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Ski Resorts, Territories and Services (AGKTiS) and many other tourism industry experts.
Pavel Perov, general director of the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone, also spoke about new trends: “A modern casino is not only a game. This is a new entertainment cluster and tourist driver, where large-scale concerts, festivals, international mixed martial arts competitions, conferences, forums, and theatrical performances take place. All these and many other events attract a huge tourist flow.”
The new trend affected the audience of the gambling zone. According to statistics, over the past year the increase in female audience was 16%. Internal research shows that the increase in this indicator is directly related to the growth of non-gaming services. First of all, women began to visit gambling zones more often due to the variety of entertainment programs throughout the year. Another trend that Pavel Perov spoke about at the plenary session concerns the tourist flow of foreign guests. In the first half of 2023, the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone was visited by 26,855 foreign tourists, which is 5% of the total flow of guests.
In 2023, among the foreign tourists who visited the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone were citizens of 40 countries. The largest number of visitors to the gambling zone were tourists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, China, Israel, Turkey, Georgia, India, Australia, Latvia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia. “In 2024, we expect a significant increase in the number of tourists from Iran,” said the general director of the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone.
Pavel Perov also placed a special emphasis on the development of gastronomic tourism: “It is important to organize for tourists not only comfortable living conditions, offer an active recreation program, but also introduce them to local cuisine, as it is part of the cultural code of the region. We are seeing great interest in the format of gastronomic dinners, and we already regularly hold such special evenings at the Brunello restaurant. Brand chef Ilya Zakharov every time builds a menu based on seasonal specialties of the south of Russia.”
Pavel Perov also said that the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone is developing its own hotel project “Bonus”: at the moment the apart-hotel’s room capacity is 96 rooms.
“FTT-2023: Forum of Tourist Territories” will last until October 13. Business events of the forum take place at the RED ARENA sports and entertainment venue, located in the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone. Over 150 speakers will speak at the FTT-2023 Forum, and the number of participants exceeds 1000 people. Investors, businessmen, owners and managers of ski resorts, urban and suburban tourist sites, amusement parks, hotels, sanatoriums, restaurants and representatives of federal and regional authorities share their experience. An integral part of the business program was a professional exhibition of the ski industry, sports, park equipment, and HoReCa products.