While every event & meetingprof definitely watches the space – if not attending – and remembers the dates for the leading international industry events, huge in its scale and influence (like IMEX or EIBTM), I thought it would be interesting to review some of the prominent events for the event professionals held in Russia. There is no doubt the Russian event market’s future is bright, and the events services are indeed a promising and fast developing sector at the moment. International experts and foreign companies are largely participating in the sector’s trade shows and forums, but I still feel for the majority of the specialists and companies outside Russia it may be foggy and challenging – mostly due to language barrier – to find the relevant info or links. So here is a list of the events for those eventprofs interested to touch the Russian ground and see what is happening here. I believe you may find it rewarding experience and see the common points, understand differences, and also maybe find your new partner.
EFEA
Europe+Asia Event Forum is indeed one of the leading events which is designed for a wide range of professionals and companies – PCOs, incentive travel companies, exhibitors, governmental entities, suppliers, educators, hotels and venues. In 2016 the Forum was held for th 5th time, with over 400 attendees from 8 countries and 18 regions of Russia. The event has a good representation of the various associations and is held under the partonage of the Russian Chamber of Commerce.
This year the Forum embraced some concepts not used before during the event, like expert lab, campfires and Buyer’s zone and hopefully will continue do so bringing innovative solutions right before the eyes of its attendees.
But what I personally like about the Forum’s programme most is its Event Talents Final which aims to showcase the crème de la crème of the young event profs. It is indeed a great opportunity for anyone starting out in the industry and I just hope as many bright to-be-eventprofs hear about the awards.
The EFEA 2017 will be held 18-20 Jan 2017
MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL MICE FORUM
It is an international trade-show specifically aiming at MICE sector and representing a range of participating countries. As put by the organisers, “The Moscow MICE Forum is designed for International MICE specialists to meet with the growing number of Russian MICE Professionals and Corporate Buyers. It is not a large exhibition but a highly specialised event catering to the exact requirements of both buyer and seller.” On the Russian version of the webpages the organisers also put up some facts about MICE in Russia from its annual research, which are: 1) 60% of the Russian corporate meetings are held abroad 2) business tourism experts from Russia forecast increased interest from Russian public for the events held abroad 3) Russian MICE professionals are on the look out for the new attractive options for meetings, conferences, exhibitions and business tours. Seems like it is a good starting meeting point for you if you are considering finding Russian partners in MICE sector.
Moscow International MICE Forum 2017 to be held on 20 March, 2017
MITT
Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition is the Russia’s largest and longest running travel trade show, and one of the top five in the world. 1800 companies, 192 countries and regions – an ideal setting to bring yourself up-to-date with all the latest developments in the tourism sector and learn more about Russian tourism industry, Russian regions, tourist attractions and so on. With recent developments in the sector, current economic situation and with a view to upcoming large-scale events to be held in Russia, you don’t want to miss MITT which will bring together a range of exhibitors and potential partners. In case you are interested in MITT 2016, here is what it will be about generally:
MITT 2016 will occupy 8 exhibition halls and pavilions:
Pavilion 1 – Multi-focused outbound Russian tour operators, Turkish hotels
Pavilion 2 (Halls 1- 3) – European, Mediterranean, Scandinavian and Baltic destinations
Pavilion 8, Hall 1 – Turkey
Pavilion 8 Hall 2 – Russia and the CIS: Inbound tour operators, hotels, river cruises, and the IT in Tourism sector
Pavilion 8 Hall 3 – Russian Pavilion – Russian tourism destinations
Pavilion Forum – Middle East, Asia, Americas, Africa
Outside – Coach tour operators
MITT 2016 is held on 23-26 March, 2016
OTDYKH MICE
International Meeting Industry and Business Tourism exhibition – another reputable event you may want to check. The word “otdykh” is Russian for “holidays/rest” and in my view is quite distinguihable, also adding some local flavour.
It includes both conference and exhibition thus ticking all boxes and providing high value both for travel and business meetings profs. The event is supported by ICCA, MPI, SITE, IAPCO, ACTE, “and other respectable international and Russian state, branch entities and structures”. It is of use to you if you’d like to learn more on how to operate at the Russian market in particular.
Otdykh MICE will be held on 21-24 September 2016
There is also a number of smaller scale or regional events which have potential to develop into the bright networking platforms for both Russian event professionals from various regions, and between Russian eventprofs and their foreign colleagues. Just a few examples – Event Show by Vedomosti in Sochi; Annual EventProfs Congress in Yekaterinburg; Russian MICE Forum in Tyumen. These events are not typically held in central cities like Moscow or SPetersburg, but should this put one off? Surely not I’d say – it is great reason to explore the largest country in the world! It will also sometimes feel like being adventurous, but you may well realise the Russian regions are full of hidden gems be that business opportunities, sights, or people.
ME
