“Visit Saint Petersburg!” conducted a special roadshow showcasing its many offerings to the travel trade in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The two days included B2B meetings, presentation, classical music and Anna Pavlova dessert masterclass – all that was in the roadshow organized by the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg and the City Tourist Information Bureau in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, bringing 12 representatives of the travel sector – Pulkovo Airport, DMCs, hotels, Vodokhod river cruise company and Faberge museum – to present their programs and establish direct contacts with the local colleagues. In UAE’s capital city of Abu Dhabi, more than 65 representatives of local travel sector took part in the presentation of the first day of the road show and over 120 participants attended from Dubai from the region’s tourism industry, covering a wide variety of issues from the Russian recent e-visa program to the presentations of St. Petersburg major travel players. The representatives of the tourist business of the region got acquainted with the novelties of St. Petersburg, classic programs, the new tourist geography of the city on the Neva river. Road show visitors learned about the historical sights of St. Petersburg, architectural masterpieces, the event calendar, educational and religious routes, and much more. Particular attention was paid to the organization of direct flights to the northern capital. The presentation attracted the attention of representatives of tour operators and professional associations, airlines, organizers of MICE events and specialized media from the Middle East. The road show has become part of a holistic information campaign of the city’s Tourism authorities, which also included presence at travel exhibitions, running a Visit Petersburg representative office in Dubai and other …
Read More »flydubai to launch daily flights to St Petersburg from 20th January 2023
flydubai announced the launch of daily flights to St Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport (LED) from 20 January 2023. The carrier has grown its network to 114 destinations most of which were not previously served with direct airlinks to the United Arab Emirates. flydubai flights to St Petersburg from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB)is currently scheduled to be operated by its fleet of Boeing MAX 8 aircraft. The flight time on this route is six hours and 50 minutes, making it one of the longer flights the carrier operates to after Krabi and Pattaya in Thailand which will also commence on 20 January 2023. Commenting on the announcement, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “2022 has been a tremendous year for growth for flydubai. We have taken delivery of 18 new aircraft this year which has enabled us to continue to expand our network and add more capacity on some of our existing routes. We are confident this momentum will continue well into next year thanks to the hard work of everyone at flydubai and the encouraging economic environment Dubai has given us.” The carrier first started its operations to the Russian market in 2010 with direct flights to Samara and Yekaterinburg. With the launch of the new service, flydubai will serve nine destinations in the market including Kazan (KZN), Makhachkala (MCX), Mineralnye Vody (MRV), Moscow (VKO), Novosibirsk (OVB), Samara (KUF), St Petersburg (LED), Ufa (UFA) and Yekaterinburg (SVX). Commenting on the launch of flights to St Petersburg, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “the start of our operations to St Petersburg will give passengers from the market a more convenient option …
Read More »St.Petersburg showcases its offerings in Riyadh
115 trade partners gathered for the St.Petersburg roadshow in Riyadh. The guests were welcomed by Arbi Abubakarov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Relations of St. Petersburg, Stanislav Yankovets, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy General Director of the City Tourist Information Bureau of St. Petersburg Yulia Bondareva. The welcome speeches were followed by the presentation of St Petersburg and the travel partners from St Petersburg, among whom was General Director of the Northern Capital Gateway Company (operator of the Pulkovo airport) Leonid Sergeev. The road show “Visit Saint Petersburg!” ended in Saudi Arabia. The road show program, formed on the initiative and with the participation of specialists from the tourism industry in St. Petersburg and organized by the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg and the City Tourist Information Bureau, included a series of workshops in Riyadh. Participants of the hospitality industry of the Northern capital presented their programs and established direct contacts with Middle Eastern colleagues. There was also a discussion of the possibility of establishing direct air communication between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and St. Petersburg. The representatives of the tourist business of the region got acquainted with the novelties of St. Petersburg, classic programs, the new tourist geography of the city on the Neva river. Road show visitors learned about the historical sights of St. Petersburg, architectural masterpieces, the event calendar, educational and religious routes, and much more. Particular attention was paid to the organization of direct flights to the northern capital. The presentation attracted the attention of representatives of tour operators and professional associations, airlines, organizers of MICE events and specialized media from the Middle …
Read More »“Visit Saint Petersburg!” roadshow to take place in Jeddah and Riyadh, 1-2 November
Saint Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development and City Tourist Information Bureau will hold events in the framework of the roadshow: presentation of tourist programs and hospitality industry services of Saint Petersburg in the cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 1-2 November 2022: The Ritz-Carlton, Jeddah – 1 November Fairmont Riyadh, Riyadh – 2 November Being the city of white nights and drawbridges, St. Petersburg is quite unique in Russian history. It has remained the magnificent capital of the Russian Empire for more than two centuries and now retains its status as the cultural centre. The historical part of St. Petersburg with its world-known museums, theatres, art galleries, architectural monuments is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List – the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, the National Library of Russia and the State Russian Museum are some of them. According to statistics, the number of tourists in St. Petersburg has reached 10 million in the pre-pandemic period. And even more than 10 million! The event is aimed at developing partnership between enterprises of tourist industry of St. Petersburg and travel industry’s representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Presentation will feature new sightseeing programs, classical and new tourist attractions, museums, historical and cultural monuments, events. Participants from St. Petersburg: Petersburg tour operators, DMC; representatives of St. Petersburg hotels; representatives of cultural institutions and other tourist infrastructure of St. Petersburg. The program includes: B2B workshop; presentation of St. Petersburg’s tourism potential; dinner with cultural program and raffle of prizes from St. Petersburg participants. To attend the “Visit Saint Petersburg!” roadshow, please follow this link: https://petersburg-roadshow.com or https://petersburg-roadshow.com/sa/ Contact us: info@petersburg-roadshow.com +7 929 519-08-82 – Karina Rink +7 903 665-12-52 …
Read More »Travel trade from Abu Dhabi witnessed live entertainment from St. Petersburg tourism
Leading travel trade agents in Abu Dhabi attended the first ever roadshow from St.Petersburg recently with partners from DMCs, hoteliers, cruise/shipping companies and medical tourism specialists. The roadshow was divided into three main parts, the first was the one on one B2B sessions where the travel trade could spend time and get to know the destination, followed by detailed presentations by the partners. The final part of the event was the grand dinner with authentic St.Petersburg entertainment, which included a ballet performance as well. Ksenia Narvatkina, Chief Specialist of the development department from St. Petersburg City Tourist Information Bureau and Committee for tourism development of Saint Petersburg, opened the presentation sharing, “we would like to share with you the tourism potential of St.Petersburg and hope that today’s presentation will allow you to know more about our unique city and its many offerings. In 2018, committee for tourism development of St.Petersburg and city tourism bureau organised a roadshow to the cities of the United Arab Emirates. The presentation of tourism development was held with great success and the event aroused great interest among people of the United Arab Emirates.” Mahesh Perera – Travel Consultant – BCD Travels Abu Dhabi shared, “After the pandemic during the past two and half years we did have on and off a few events but this was the first in Abu Dhabi and this was a very well organised roadshow. It was interesting to meet many partners including cruise partners this evening at the St.Petersburg roadshow. For agents like us in Abu Dhabi it was really a very productive and interactive event which enabled us to meet many partners.” Kumar Jiandani Business Development Manager Over Seas …
Read More »Four Seasons Hotel Lion, St. Petersburg eyes Bahrain travellers
The iconic Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace sits within the walls of a 19th-century royal palace in the beautifully preserved imperial city of St. Petersburg. The city has become an attractive destination for Bahraini nationals with the introduction of the e-Visa portal in October. The Bahraini citizens can now enjoy the benefits of the fast and simple online visa process. Applications can be sent within 20 days of travelling, and up to four days before arrival. The visa is valid for stays up to eight days in St Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region. The palace is located in the upmarket Admiralteysky district, where the opulent stylings of imperial Russia are alive and well. Originally constructed in the early 19th century for Prince Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky, the storied Hotel provides the perfect base for discerning travellers who wish to explore this magical city in style. Felix Murillo, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg says, “The introduction of the e-Visa portal offers a new level of convenience for international travellers, making it easier than ever for Bahrainis to arrange a trip to our wonderful city. Our concierge team takes great pleasure in highlighting St. Petersburg’s historical and cultural visitor attractions and will be happy to arrange anything our guests may require to turn every trip into an unforgettable experience.”
Read More »Russia emerges as sixth largest source market for Dubai
Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) hosted a series of strategic meetings with tourism and media companies in Moscow and St. Petersburg recently. The meetings drew attention to Russia’s emergence as the sixth largest source market for Dubai. The number of Russian tourists has grown exponentially over the past few years, from 240,000 in 2016 to 678,000 in 2018 and in the first seven months of this year, Dubai has welcomed 392,000 visitors from Russia. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), who led the delegation, observed that Russian tourist traffic continued to play an important role in helping Dubai maintain steady tourism volumes. He also noted that following an exceptional resurgence in Russian visitors to Dubai in 2018, largely due to the visa-on-arrival enablement, growth from Russia levelled off to more sustainable volumes in H1 2019. Tour operators and destination management companies, who attended the meetings, included TUI – Russia & CIS, Karlson Tourism, Space Travel TO and Art Tour while Dubai Tourism also held wide-ranging discussions with key media companies including Kommersant Style, Spbdnevnik.ru, Proturizm.club, as well as TV and radio broadcasting company Travel.Vesti. Dubai Tourism also hosted networking events in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which were attended by over 200 travel trade representatives.
Read More »St. Petersburg showcases its new ‘Luxury Russia’ offerings at ATM 2019
Participating for the third time at the Arabian Travel Market 2019, the St. Petersburg, Russia pavilion highlighted all aspects of leisure, MICE, luxury, recreational and health and wellness tourism. As a special focus this year, St. Petersburg showcased their foray into its new ‘Luxury Russia’ offerings that centered around the symbolic, historical and cultural aspects of Russia. ‘Luxury Russia’ had a range of specially curated tours and activities. These included a bespoke museum premium hour tours with a personalised guide, gala receptions at the legendary Cruise Aurora shipyard; now converted into a museum and the Catharine Palace. Also included is 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. “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. More so, this year we are targeting high profile travellers 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 avail of exclusive experiences and truly customised service of an exceptional quality while travelling in Russia,” said, Marina Morozova – Head of National Tourism of Russian Federation in the Middle East Dubai UAE / CEO Luxury Travel Association. “Arabian Travel Market provides a perfect platform to reach out to the B2B and B2C sector …
Read More »Emirates A380 to fly between Dubai and St. Petersburg during autumn holidays in October
In response to an increased travel demand during autumn school holidays, Emirates today has announced it will operate its A380 between Dubai and St. Petersburg, temporarily replacing the Boeing 777 aircraft, which is currently operating on the route. From October 25, 2018 to October 29, 2018, flights EK 175/176 will be operated by Emirates A380 between Dubai and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport, offering 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 fully flat-bed seats in Business Class and 429 seats in Economy Class. Flight EK175 will depart from Dubai at 15:45 and arrive in St. Petersburg at 20:50, while the return flight, EK176 will leave St. Petersburg at 23:55 and arrive in Dubai at 06:55 the next morning. This will be the first time an A380 has operated to St. Petersburg, demonstrating the extensive work and preparation the airport has undertaken to receive the double-decker aircraft. During this period, passengers departing from St. Petersburg will have the opportunity to experience a wide range of tourist and business destinations on the Emirates network, including Mauritius, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne and others. Through its partnership with flydubai, Emirates also provides customers in St. Petersburg with convenient and seamless access to a number of destinations beyond Dubai, including Zanzibar and Kathmandu.
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