St. Petersburg Russia Set to Unravel the City’s Sights and Sounds at Arabian Travel Market 2019

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 29, 2019: Participating for the third time at the Arabian Travel Market 2019, the St. Petersburg, Russia pavilion will highlight all aspects of leisure, MICE, luxury, recreational and health and wellness tourism. As a special focus this year, St. Petersburg will also showcase their foray into its new ‘Luxury Russia’ offerings that will centre around the symbolic, historical and cultural aspects of Russia. The stand is located at Hall 7 booth EU 5950.

‘Luxury Russia’ will have a range of specially curated tours and activities. These include a bespoke museum premium hour tours with a personalized guide and experience. Gala receptions at the legendary Cruise Aurora shipyard; now converted into a museum and the Catharine Palace. Under normal circumstances this facility is not provided for the general tourists.

Also included are the exciting experience to set off a cannon while touring the historic Peter and Paul Fortress and getting a helicopter tour of the presidential palace also known as the Konstastinosky Palace. And for art connoisseurs, special showing of museum auction pieces, and the opportunity to buy auction masterpieces from world renowned museum collections. Hunters can look forward to a special hunting experience which Russia is famous for and ranges from deer, birds, sheep and bears. All this is further heightened by being pampered with Limousine service and personal tour guides, living in luxurious suites and flying high in helicopters as a mode of transportation. 

“The Middle East is soon becoming an important part of our tourism business and we understand the need to be present at Arabian Travel Market. As a leading event in the travel and tourism market, it helps us build our network of partners and associates. More so, this year as we are targeting high profile travelers from the luxury segment as our research indicates that they contribute quite heavily to the frequency as well as the spending habits while visiting St. Petersburg,” said, Olga Redino, Deputy General Director & Vice Head of Saint Petersburg Convention Bureau.

”Our Luxury Tourism Association is a unique project in Russia which creates the platform for premium and luxury customers to can avail of exclusive experiences and truly customized service of an exceptional quality while travelling in Russia. Saint Petersburg is a real gem in Russian Luxury travel collection where our guests can get genuinely unique experience of amazing art, culture, white nights, open bridges,” said, Marina Morozova - Head of National Tourism of Russian Federation in the Middle East Dubai UAE / CEO Luxury Travel Association.

“As a representative office for Visit St. Petersburg Dubai we have the responsibility to market Saint Petersburg and Russia as whole in the Middle East and are extremely excited about their participation at Arabian Travel Market. ATM provides a perfect platform to reach out to B2B and B2C sector at the same time with regional access points. We also see a lot of positives after visa relaxation for Emiratis from Russia,” said, Harmeek Singh, Chairman, Visit St. Petersburg for Middle East Region.

St. Petersburg has been actively developing tourism over the last few years. As an award-winning destination, St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It has been awarded the World’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2018 as well as Europe’s Leading Cruise Destination and Europe’s Leading Heritage Destination 2018 by World Travel Awards. Added to this, the city also boasts of the Historic Centre and other related monuments which are in the World Heritage List of UNESCO. 

Additionally, the city is rightfully called the cultural capital of Russia. It has several theaters and museums spread across and are a visitor’s delight. Today St. Petersburg has over 100 theatres with over 60 new productions and about 5000 performances shown in the city. Tourists can also savour a unique gastronomic phenomenon that rises from a mingling of traditional Russian cuisine and elegant French nuances.

St. Petersburg is home to a natural phenomenon; the White Nights, although not unique to the city, it lasts from approximately June 11 to July 2^nd. With continuous light throughout the whole day, the setting is perfect to walk along the banks of the city’s rivers and canals. And with it, tourists can also enjoy beautiful summer months that are filled with a lively, friendly and active atmosphere through the night and day, something that no other European city offers.

Visit St. Petersburg office Dubai is tapping into data and generating a community by providing an experiential platform to get a feel of the city. This is a culmination of the new visa relaxation for Emiratis in Russia.