For the soul and business. St. Petersburg is preparing for a meeting of business tourists

In the coming high tourist season, St. Petersburg is preparing to receive more guests. And these will be not only tourists, but also those who come to us on business. We intend to attract them with new venues and fresh ideas in organizing their stay, allowing them to spend time in the Northern capital with benefit both for business and for the soul.

PHOTO by Alexander DROZDOV

The numbers speak volumes about the scale of reception of business tourists. According to official data, in 2023 St. Petersburg received about 1.2 million such guests – 24% more than a year earlier. At the same time, they “invested” approximately 60.7 billion rubles into the city economy (14% more than in 2022), and the average bill of such a tourist turned out to be noticeably larger than that of an ordinary one. For example, each business tourist from the regions of Russia spent about 47 thousand rubles in St. Petersburg per trip, those arriving from neighboring countries spent 83 thousand, and those from far abroad spent 157 thousand rubles. Moreover, the stay of business tourists is usually short, about three to four days.

Guests, as we see, leave considerable funds in the city and thereby help maintain and create new jobs, improve St. Petersburg and make it more convenient for us, its residents. In this regard, Governor Alexander Beglov stated that “we will continue to create comfortable conditions for holding business events, develop infrastructure and strengthen the position of our city as the largest center of business tourism.”

Experts are confident that the 2024 season will be even hotter in this direction, while the emphasis in the city will be placed not even on quantity, but on the quality of events; organizers will be offered new venues that fully meet both the standards of the experience economy and the bleisure format. What it is? The term, a derivative of the English words business (“work”) and leisure (“leisure, recreation”), was first mentioned in 2009 and actually means combining business with pleasure, and St. Petersburg and its surroundings fit perfectly into this format. For example, Ekaterina Karpova, deputy head of the Convention and Exhibition Bureau, is confident that this year “our city will be chosen even more often for business events, since we are ready to offer guests many unique venues and interesting programs.”

Yes, St. Petersburg is famous for its architecture. Embankments and palaces. However, as experts recommend, organizers of business events must offer some kind of zest that will make their event unique and memorable. It’s just that a palace, even with the most beautiful interiors and culinary delights, is no longer suitable, this has happened more than once. Another thing is to organize a business meeting, for example, in the complex… “The Universe of Water”. It would seem that the format of the museum space does not really fit into the requirements of organizers of conferences, conventions or business meetings, but Dmitry Troshenko, head of the department of museum, exhibition and educational activities of Vodokanal, is confident that the complex on Shpalernaya Street will give odds to many traditionally used ones. these goals are sites. “The complex’s unusual, unique space allows for a variety of events, including even concerts,” he says. “And we have the opportunity to provide guests with a large cultural program.”

The “Island of Forts” project is moving in the same direction, which in 2023 included the appearance of a convention and exhibition center and the Museum of Naval Glory with the main exhibit in the form of the first Soviet nuclear submarine K-3 “Leninsky Komsomol”. As explained by Anastasia Ignatenkova, deputy head of the branch of the Museum and Temple Complex of the Russian Armed Forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Kronstadt, the site is unique in that it can satisfy several needs of business guests at once: “We can organize not only a significant event, but also interesting leisure time. For example, it is possible to hold meetings outdoors. On the roof, which offers a wonderful view of the Gulf of Finland.”

Other programs offered within the framework of the new tourist geography may be no less interesting for business guests of St. Petersburg. For example, the head of the excursion program of FC Zenit, Maria Lagutina, said that a specially developed “Match Tour” program could also be used for this, during which guests can get acquainted with the Gazprom Arena stadium and see not just a match, but also something that is usually hidden from the eyes of the fan. “For example, as football players come to a match, go to the side of the field during the team’s warm-up,” she explains. In turn, Maria Orlova-Sheiner, a member of the association for the development of public spaces “Place and People,” believes that the famous building of the A. L. Stieglitz Academy of Arts and Industry in Solyanoy Lane is especially suitable for organizing any events related to culture and creativity. And according to the Deputy General Director of the St. Petersburg Chapel, Yulia Shalisheva, this multicultural space with many halls can simultaneously accommodate up to three thousand guests, providing them with the widest opportunities for business and leisure.

According to Sergei Korneev, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee, business tourists are very important both in terms of leveling out seasonality in the industry and in stimulating the economy of the Northern capital as a whole. After all, in his opinion, business tourists bring business partners and investors with them, and therefore “this type of tourism can well be considered as one of the engines for the development of the city’s economy.” And St. Petersburg is actively working in this direction. After all, if earlier organizers of major events often complained that the Northern capital lacked various interesting locations that could quickly transform to suit the client’s requests, now there are no problems with this. Moreover, the tourist has the maximum choice – the city can offer him a hall in a magnificent palace, and a roof open to all the winds with a view of the Neva or the bay…

The material was published in the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” No. 76 (7652) dated April 25, 2024 under the heading “For the soul and the deed.”

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