A delegation, which includes a number of tourism representatives, will visit both Moscow and St. Petersburg in an effort to bridge the tourism gap between Russia and Ireland.
Research reveals that a proportion of the Russian population are unaware of what Ireland offers as a holiday destination. “Research shows that some of the main motivators for Russians when choosing a holiday include ‘natural scenic beauty’ and ‘history and culture’; these are two areas for which the island of Ireland is renowned” said Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.
Kicking off today, the tour operators and travel agents will visit a number of key regions of the country, as well as other Russian-speaking countries like Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Russian economy is fast-growing and over 24 million citizens travel outside the country each year. Niall added that “this week’s mission will see us step up our promotional efforts in the market to grow our share of Russian tourism business to Western Europe and boost awareness of Ireland among Russia’s growing middle classes who have the potential to come here on holidays”.
Niall finished by saying “In 2010, Russian tourism business to the UK increased by +23% and since the visa waiver scheme was introduced here by the Government in May of last year, there has been a noted increase by tour operators in demand for Russian visas for Ireland”.
