About 100 foreign tour operators are coming to Moscow for MITCO-2011

From 21 to 23 September the Moscow International Tourist Forum and Conference, MITCO-2011 will be held in the Crocus City Hall. The event is conducted by the Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry, and the tender for organization was won by “Svoy-TT” tour operator. Thus the chief manager of the company, Sergey Voitovich, will head the MITCO board of directors.

“We’ve invited about 100 foreign tour operators to the forum, among which there are leaders like TUI AG, the French Nouvelle Frontiere and the Dutch Kras. We’re also inviting Russian companies working in foreign and domestic tourism, tourist guides, interpreters, hotel management and, of course, the executive authorities of the travel industry, - said Mr. Voytovich to RATA-news. – We will give the visitors a good tour of Moscow, and after that have a collective discussion with Russian colleagues about why tourists are ignoring Moscow and how to solve this problem”.

“The events of the forum should define the ways for Moscow to enter the world travel industry, based on foreign experience of developing tourism in metropolitan cities. It’s also important for Moscow to have a rebranding as one of the biggest international tourist centers. The only possible way to achieve this is state and private funding of the tourist infrastructure”, - says Moscow City Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry chairman Sergey Shpilko.

Several questions are going to be discussed during the round-table conferences: things that interfere with the tourist flow growth, visa restrictions for foreigners, tourist information systems development and organization of independent tours of the city. Moscow hotels are also an issue to talk about: the pricing, the problems of low demand during high tourist season and so on.

The forum starts off with a city tour of Moscow for the foreigners. Representatives of MITCO?2011 will show the main sights – The Red Square, Arbat, Vorobyevy Gori, - as well as the “hip” places – the Bagration pedestrian bridge, Moskva-City complex and the Stalin bunker. On the second day the forum will move to Korolev, where the Space Mission Control Center is located, and where the guests will have a chance to dine with space food – just like astronauts.

The forum is expected to become an annual communication space for travel companies from Moscow, Russia and around the world.