Exhibition potential of Moscow
The 7th International Forum of Exhibition Industry 5pEXPO’2013 held the presentation of the exhibition potential of Moscow. Mikhail An, First Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of Moscow recounted the plans of the government aimed at the development of exhibition activity of Moscow. Sergey Shmakov, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moscow, informed about the activity of Moscow CCI to realize the exhibition potential of the capital city.
Moscow is far from the top of the ranking of the world's capitals for the development of exhibition and congress activities today. And it is quite understandable, since the city government has been amounting to nothing more than declarations about the progress in this field for many years. No real actions have been taken. There is no Convention and Exhibition Bureau in Moscow, which is the first step in the development of this business, according to the experience worldwide.
Therefore the speech of Mikhail An about the current situation in the capital and particularly about the problem of the establishment of Convention and Exhibition Bureau in Moscow has great attention. The Bureau is planned to be registered in July 2013. At the same time it is planned to elaborate the development programme of the exhibition industry of Moscow, as well as to attract international exhibition and congress events in the capital.
It is quite obvious, that the Bureau will immediately face a lot of problems. It is necessary to solve them and bring up the points to other departments of the city government. In particular, one of the most acute problems is the lack of available budget hotels Moscow. The Bureau will not only raise the question of their construction, but also will carry it through with the definition of specific terms and contractors. This is the only way to transform Moscow into the city capable of hosting major international events.
The expediency of development of Moscow in this direction is beyond doubt. The conference and business tourism makes a great contribution to the region’s economy. Business tourist spends three and a half times more in the city than regular tourist. And 80% of business tourists are the participants of exhibitions and congresses.
Professional questions to Mikhail An after his speech showed that there are even more issues, related to the Bureau activity, than it was covered in the presentation. For example, the capital authorities intend to establish order in the exhibition activities of Moscow companies to prevent the simultaneous conduct of the exhibitions of the same topics. The antimonopoly service objects to this idea, stating that it violates the competition law. It was agreed that in such cases it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of Moscow government, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the exhibitors to solve the specific problems of this business field at the federal level.
Expocentre Press Office