Spain to become major European destination for Russian tourists

Spain will become the main tourist destination for Russian tourists in Europe after 2011 – says Spanish General Secretary for Tourism and Domestic Trade Mr. Joan Meskida during the press-conference in Moscow. “Three years ago our government staked on Russian tourism development and that turned out to be the right thing to do. In 2011 we expect this year to beat the record number of tourist arrivals from Russia, and the growth of tourist flow will be 50% compared to 2010 when the number of Russian tourists were 605 thousand people. This year we hope to see around a million of Russians. And this means that in 2011 Spain will become the major European destination preferred by the Russians” – said Mr. Meskida. He also added that Russian tourist was of great interest for his country because Russians spend around 50% more money than any other visitor, which makes an average of €1.5 thousand.

For the summer period from June to October the number of air services between Russia and Spain is to be increased by 73%.

Joan Meskida also revealed that Spanish Consulate in Moscow is working on simplification of visa application procedures and that Russian tour operators consider such measures to be the most effective among all other countries. For the first five months of this year the number of visa issued to Russian citizens has grown by 65% compared to the same period last year.

“Foe the last three years the tourist flow from Russia to Spain has tripled” – said Spanish Ambassador to Russia Mr. Juan Antonio March Pujol adding that Spanish government use innovative approach to tourism development. As an example he used the participation of famous Michelin-star chef Mr. Ferran Adria in Spanish tourism marketing campaign. Gastronomy Maitre, owner of the well-known El Bulli Restaurant who came to Russia for the first time told how important is local cuisine in attracting foreign tourists to the country. Besides that he announced that his “star” restaurant would be out of business and turned into a foundation that would be a real Culinary Art research center. This new foundation will gather talents from around the world to create brand new gastronomy trends and technologies that will be highlighted on the internet on a daily basis.

Spanish tourism promotion strategy also includes activities addressed to general public. These are opportunities to visit the workout of the best football club in Madrid or flash-mob in Moscow underground, that are aimed at creating the impression of direct contact with the tourist destination.

An information booth will be opened at Atrium shopping mall in Moscow, where useful presents would be handed out to public. Besides that the promotion campaign will feature one week of airing of Time Lapse video footage describing Spain’s major places of interest on three giant screens in Moscow city center.