Discount card for tourists introduced in Moscow
The Moscow Pass travel card will be released in December 2012 and it will allow foreign and domestic tourists to get free access to some services. The card is being created by a company called Wow Moscow with assistance from the Moscow City Committee for Tourism and the Hotel Industry.
Ksenia Zemskova, Head of tourism projects in Wow Moscow, said during a press-conference that the first card will already be available in the middle of December. “It’s much like a pass for tourists who want to go sightseeing. The first version of the card will work for three days and will give access to some museums and excursions. It will cost €59.99”, - she told the press.
According to Mrs. Zemskova, many museums to this day do not accept credit cards, and most museums do not have a convenient way to purchase the ticket online. So Moscow Pass will make museum visiting much simpler for tourists. Also the card will allow less-known museums to present themselves to foreign visitors.
As of today the Moscow Pass card grants admission to the State Historical Museum, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Torture Museum, Multimedia Art Museum, Museum of Russian Contemporary History, Museum of the 1812 Patriotic War, and also the Museum of Russian Icons. You can also take a trip on the Moscow River onboard one of the Radisson Royal ships, enjoy a double decker excursion, or take a walking tour of the city. The Moscow Pass program has found many partners: Prime Star cafe, Uzbekistan and Beloye Solntse Pustiny restaurants, Move Kart carting, Moscow Free Tour excursion bureau and the culinary school Taste of Russia. Mrs. Zemskova assures that in the future the number of participating museums will rise to about 50. “All of them are already interested and want to cooperate. Basically we just need some time to work out all the details with the museum authorities”, - she said. Moscow Pass is also looking to include free public transportation to the card (Mrs. Zemskova feels it’s currently the number one priority), and also issue different cards for different groups of people: kids, students and seniors.
Deputy Head of the Moscow Committee for Tourism and the Hotel Industry, Georgy Mokhov, stated that the main goal of the new card is not to sell museum admissions, but rather promote Moscow as modern a tourist center. “One might say there are not enough partners, but this is only the start. Saint-Petersburg showed that projects like that gain popularity very fast. As soon as museums become aware of such a project, they want in. The card is exactly what tourists in Moscow need right now”, - he said.
According to Aleksei Levykin, Head of the State Historical Museum, the program will help attract more tourists and at the same time - cut down the lines to the ticket booths. He truly believes that Moscow Pass will be a popular project, it just needs some time to adjust to the market.
The discount Moscow Pass card will be available at train stations and airports, souvenir shops and restaurants, hotels and hostels, and also on the official site: www.moscowpass.com. According to Mrs. Zemskova, the card will also be sold in the Tourist Information Centers that will be soon opened at Kiyevskaya, Belorusskaya and Paveletskaya subway stations. The first information center is already working in the hall of the Museum of the 1812 Patriotic War, which is right at the beginning of the Red Square. The opening of an information center in Sheremetyevo Airport is planned for 2013.