Travel opportunities of Russia were presented online for international DMC’s

The first online exhibition of inbound tourism to Russia, Russia Expo Days 2017, was held on the 18th and 19th of November. Representatives of federal and regional travel agencies, DMCs, as well as the organising committee of the Championship and the decision makers of Russian tourism market were telling about the nuances of the championship and presented to the foreign audience the travel opportunities of the hosting cities. Participants of RED-2017 were able to get answers for the questions about passes, security policy, accommodation, logistics, visas, reception of individual tourists and tourist groups. Alexandr Gorokhov head of Visit Russia for Russian Travel Digest: "The promotion campaign of Russia as a travel destination will be primarily aimed at 10 European countries – participants of the 2018 World Cup. After all, football fans follow their teams.» RED 2017 started from opening ceremony and welcome speeches of officials, as: Oleg Safonov, Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism; Oksana Tubman, front office manager at ANCO Organising Committee Russia-2018; Alexey Petrov, First Deputy Director General of Transport directorate of the 2018 FIFA World Cup; Paul Whelan, Executive director at MATCH Accommodation 2018; Anna Bagrova, Domestic sales director at Match Hospitality AG; Alexander Gorokhov, CEO at Union of National and International Tourism Information Organisations SONATO (Visit Russia); Andrey Romankov, Deputy director of realization of strategic project department Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation; Yury Barzykin, Chairman of the Committee on Entrepreneurship in the sphere of tourism, resorts, recreation and hospitality in the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice-president of the Russian Association of Travel Industry; Aleksandr Osaulenko, Director of Tourassist association; Sergey Golov, President of Russia's Travel Agencies Union; Svetlana Pyatihatka, CEO of the “World without Borders” Association. The first day was devoted to presentations of Russian regions. The official web page of RED 2017 had interactive map of the country with the following regions and short information about transportation, accommodation, and championship capabilities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Tatarstan, Kaliningrad region, Sverdlovsk region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Samara region, and Krasnodar region. Participants of Russia Expo Days were able to learn where to go after match and which must-see attractions to visit. On the second day of online exhibition, Russian tour operators and DMS’s presented their products and services for international tourists: KMP, Intourist, Verum-Tourism, Mos-Tour, Inters, Olta Travel, Mouzenidis Intour, Favorit, Riviera-Sochi, Svoy Travel Services (they presented online booking system).