Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai The capital city of Russia, Moscow has identified India among its important priority markets, and has set its eyes on tapping the wedding and event segments here. In this direction, Moscow City Tourism Committee (MCTC) hosted the first-ever roadshow in India in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai.
During her recent visit to Mumbai, Anastasia Popova, Head of the Directorate of Congress, Exhibition and Industry Projects, Moscow City Tourism Committee, spoke to TravelBiz Monitor about their action plan. “India is among our key priority markets, and we are here to promote Moscow as a wedding destination. We want to showcase there are many locations and quality hotels available for hosting Indian weddings. We have noticed that the Indian tourists know about old Moscow, but haven’t been updated about new-age changes in the city.”
In order to educate the travel trade and wedding planners in India about the infrastructure available for hosting weddings in Moscow, MCTC will curate promotional material and brochures. “We do not have enough material for Indian wedding planners; and we will draft material for ready use. We are going to launch a B2B portal that will offer all the information at the click of a button.”
Currently, there are direct flights from New Delhi to Moscow, and one-stop services from Mumbai. “We want to increase the tourist flow and for that air access is among the key aspect.” She also spoke about reaching out to airlines for better connections.
Commenting on the current tensions, Popova said that “Tourism is not about politics, it’s about people and exchange of cultures. We will be participating in roadshows, exhibitions and undertake FAM trips to show that Moscow is safe; and the city continues to live life normally.”
Popova share that MCTC has set-up a division in June to offer subsidies for entities hosting business events in Moscow. “Indian corporates can benefit from this from next year onwards. We are offering subsidy of up to 10 million ruble for hosting two-days of incentive programme.”
