With an ambitious target to rapidly grow the number of Indian visitors to St Petersburg, a high-level delegation is leading a series of activities in India, including participation in ongoing travel trade fair, SATTE.

With the recovery of tourism flow from India to Saint Petersburg remaining slow, the Committee for Tourism Development of Saint Petersburg and Saint Petersburg Convention Bureau have undertaken a series of marketing and promotional activities in the Indian market.

As part of its effort to boost visibility and create a fresh demand for St Petersburg in the Indian market, a large team of tourism stakeholders, both public and private, are participating in South Asia’s Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) that took place at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi National Capital. According to a press statement, this is the first time that St Petersburg, the northern capital of Russia, is participating in the exhibition.

The statement adds that the pavillion of St Petersburg at SATTE demonstrates impressive views of the city. The use of audiovisual and 3-D effects will help to show change of day and night, as well as the change of seasons in the city. An unusual addition to the exposition is an art object in the form of a Ferris wheel, with the sights of the St Petersburg depicted instead of cabins.

As part of participation at SATTE, the St Petersburg delegation also made an extensive presentation about the attractivity of the destination for a broad variety of Indian travellers. “It is an ideal destination for different segments of tourist from India. Of course leisure and luxury travellers are very important for us. We are also focusing on increasing the profile of our city amongst the MICE and business travel ecosystems,’’ says Julia Kuzenskaya, Deputy Chairman of Committee for Tourism Development of Saint Petersburg.

“We can multiply the number of Indian tourists visiting St Petersburg and Moscow as what we have to offer is truly unique and worth exploring for tourists from India,” Kuzenskaya adds.

During the event, Russian and foreign experts spoke of travel opportunities in Russia, tour operators for the hosting of foreign guests in St. Petersburg, as well as the Russian hotel booking system. The speakers presented unique tourist opportunities for Indian travellers to St Petersburg.

To bring the St Petersburg pavilion alive, a series of life performances by Olympic Orchestra, a St Petersburg string quartet, created a special atmosphere at SATTE.