Guest comment: Selling Russia could boost agent income

Tatiana Gossaidareva, director, Russia Revealed During these tough trading times for agents, with pressure on commissions and ever increasing competition from online providers and direct sell, it’s vital that the retail market spots the shining stars out there. Russia, I believe, is one of the brightest of them all. City breaks are fuelling tremendous growth in tourism to Russia. The market is now one of the strongest in the travel industry, benefiting from the trend of consumers taking a greater number of shorter holidays. Today’s short-break traveller is looking to broaden their horizons, and is beginning to explore new countries and cultures, such as Russia, the Baltic states and Finland, and cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Riga and Helsinki – moving away from the familiar favourites of Western European, such as Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam. As these new boom destinations are little served by the online, self-packaging and direct-sell channels, they represent fertile territory for agents. Only agents can provide the levels of service and support consumers demand to ensure successful trips, by providing, for example, detailed inside knowledge on each country and offering a wealth of tailor-made options and upsells such as cruises and excursions. Russia witnessed prodigious growth in 2003, receiving 64,000 UK visitors in the second quarter of 2003, up from 46,000 during the same period in 2002. With the country’s most popular cities Moscow and St. Petersburg offering breathtaking sites, a wealth of culture and luxurious hotels, coupled with a tremendous sense of the unexplored, it’s no wonder the destination is opening up so dramatically. St. Petersburg continues to grow as a popular tourist destination, enticing visitors with sites including the Hermitage and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Travellers are tending to combine St. Petersburg with a dual city break tour to Moscow, while other are being more adventurous still and adding excursions deeper into the heart of Russia. During 2003 Russia Revealed saw agency business grow by over 100%, and we’re getting enquiries from new agencies every day. We’ve answered the industry’s demand for easy-to-sell packaged products to the country, such as city breaks, cruises and tours, including the unusual, and very Russian, tour of a cluster of towns north of Moscow known as the ‘Golden Ring’. We have also incentivised visitors with offers such as free visas on a promotional basis. With interest in Russia growing at such a rate, it’s vital for agents to answer the demand for this and other destinations of Eastern Europe that create such strong selling opportunities. In 2004, we believe the city breaks market will shift further afield and that agents will turn their gaze eastwards like never before.