Questions

1. What international tourism growth does the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecast?

2. Why is Russia considered to be a country with great potentials for tourism development?

3. What types of tourism are well developed in Russia?

4. What tourists’ needs should be catered to according to travel professionals?

Today’s hoteliers must be creative and continually invest new ways in order to attract new guests and to retain the regular customers. Due to the fact that the hotel business is able to provide a steady income to the federal budget, the number of hotels and accommodation in Russia is growing every year. The leading cities for the hotel industry in Russia are Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Samara, Krasnodar, Yaroslavl and Novosibirsk.

One of the major forces for hotel development in certain countries has become the forthcoming world sporting events. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the development of the city of Sochi as a mountainous climatic resort have attracted international hotel operators. The victory of Russia in the bid to host the Football World Cup in 2018 is also a great opportunity for the construction of quality hotels in several regions.

A new classification system for the tourism industrial facilities, hotels and other accommodations, ski trails and beaches was issued in Russia on 25 January, 2011 (Order Nº 35). As a result, numerous hotels and resorts are now highly motivated to invest their resources in Russia either directly or through franchising structures, for instance Azimut, VOYAGE Hotels & Resorts, Accor, Kempinski, Shangri La, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotel Group, Marriott, Carlson Rezidor, Ritz-Carlton, Tulip Hotels, etc.

Hospitality is a very complex system, which depends on the degree of development of the economy as a whole. The new hotel classification system in Russia could go a long way to introduce international standards in many business sectors in Russia.

Questions

1. What should the hoteliers do to retain the regular customers?

2. What are the leading cities for the hotel industry in Russia?

3. What events have a great impact on hotel development in any country?

4. What can the victory of Russia in the bid to host the Football World Cup in 2018 result in?

5. Why are numerous international chains highly motivated to invest their resources in Russia?

6. Why is the introduction of the new hotel classification system very important for hospitality business in Russia?

During the last 15 years the hotel business in Russia has been rapid developing and undergoing the revolutionary changes. International hotel networks have entered the Russian market, small private hotels have been springing, local chains developed. Amaks hotels, Accord management group, Alroso, Russian hotels, Eurasia, Forston are the main ones. Old-type Soviet hotels have been renovated to match the international standards. Some of them started to operate under the international brands like Marriott Hilton, Razidor SAS, Radisson SAS, Royal Hotel, Novotel, Accor. The country leaders in the hotel market are Moscow, St. Petersbutg and Sochi. Moscow and St. Petersburg account for 70% of the Russian hospitality market turnover.

While there is a growing demand for 2-3 star hotels, in the Russian capital, the business is however focused on luxury or upscale segment. St. Petersburg is much friendlier to middle-budget visitors and a growing number of mini-hotels in the city is partially satisfying the demand.

The construction of mini-hotels and guest houses is booming in Krasnodar and Irkutsk regions thanks to the Olympic Games in Sochi and an increasing interest in eco-tourism on the Baikal Lake.

In 2010 Russia won the right to host 2018 FIFA World Cup. Since then Russian cities that were included in the bid to host the event witness the hotel construction boom. While Moscow, St.-Petersburg and Sochi are well-prepared to accommodate the participants and guests, other cities like Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saranks, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don appeared to have insufficient room supply. The present-day construction in the cities is aiming at covering the deficiency of quality accommodation.