Moscow’s add campaign to blast off in autumn
The advertisement campaign of Moscow’s tourism capacity has been shifted to autumn, since one of the main goals of Moscow City Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry is to promote the winter season and get ready for spring-summer. The announcement was made at an international tourism forum in Moscow (MITCO) by the committee’s head, Sergey Shpilko.
MITCO is being held as part of the Leisure-2011 (“Rest”) trade show and includes over 400 specialists from Russian and foreign tour companies, representatives from hotels and transport firms.
Most of the adds about Moscow are being laid on the shoulders of Russian and international TV. A series of programs has already started on the BBC and Russia Today, soon it’s expected to start on the Moscow based TV-Tsentr. According to Sergey Shpilko, the Mayak radio station has also been picked for the job, as it is thought to have the largest audience in Russia. The first program from the cycle, titled “Moscow – the tourism lighthouse” is expected to go on air on September 24th.
Adds will also be placed in the Russian and foreign printed press, airlines and trains onboard magazines. The leading media in more than ten countries in Europe, America and Asia has already published adds promoting Moscow with a total circulation of over 4,5 million copies.
The committee is also planning to invite more foreign journalists to Moscow and it’s thought around 700 will visit the capital before the end of the year. Authorities have also set the course for promotion online. The committee is setting up a tourism portal, which will later be available on iPhones, iPads and in social networks – currently the main and most popular sources of information for potential tourists.
Authorities plan using special events as the tourist bait, like festivals, which would attract visitors and eventually become Moscow’s carte-de-visite. The Maslyanitsa spring holiday is thought to be the main such event, although according to Sergey Shpilko, it’s more of an “export” product, while a true Moscow event can be considered the festival of historic reconstruction held in Kolomenskoye park on City Day. “We really count on this event! As far as I know, no other city does something like that, it’s definitely in public demand. Over 25 thousand photos from there were published online on the third day”, - explained the committee’s chairman.
This year Moscow took part in 18 international travel trade fairs, 25 are planned for next year. Back home the committee concentrates on two exhibitions – the spring fair, which is directly consumer-oriented, and MITCO in autumn - for professionals. A large excursion around Moscow for foreign tour operators is also planned within its framework.