Expressnews
Chennai, Oct. 2023
The Moscow City Tourism Committee has awarded certificates to the first 50 expert participants of the Moscow MICE Ambassadors program in India, who have successfully completed their training. The award ceremony took place at the Business + Leisure Travel and MICE (BLTM) 2023.
According to Mr. Evgeny Kozlov, Chairman of The Moscow City Tourism Committee, “Before the pandemic, the tourist flow from India grew by 12-15 percent annually. Now we are on the road to recovery – all the conditions have been created for this. Indian business tourists were the second most numerous in Moscow as of 2022. In this regard, the Moscow City Tourism Committee and NIMA (Association of MICE Agencies of India) jointly launched the Moscow MICE Аmbassadors program just this year. In 2024, the program is expected to expand with four streams of 50 participants each, resulting in a total of 200 Moscow MICE Ambassadors by the end of the year”.
The Moscow MICE Ambassadors program aims to promote Moscow as a preferred destination for business tourism, and the initiative has received an overwhelming response from India. The program provides participants with comprehensive training on various aspects of business tourism, including conference organization, accommodation, transportation, and sightseeing. With the Moscow MICE Ambassadors program gaining traction, Moscow is poised to become one of the top destinationsfor business tourism from India.
“Moscow has it all to offer to attract Indian MICE tourists. It is a 12 months destination with well-equipped infrastructure for MICE tourism. Most of the Indian Corporations are yet to discover all those incentives provided by the Moscow City Tourism Committee”, – said Gajesh Girdhar, Founder of the National Coordinator & Chairman Governing Body, NIMA (Network of Indian MICE Agents).
Kozlov also added that Moscow is one of the most promising tourist destinations for India. “There are at least 10 direct flights, and you can use an electronic visa. Business tourism to Moscow is especially popular among Indians. With MICE Ambassador program we are going to add fuel to this trend. Among other activities it’s also worth noting, that in October Meet Global MICE Congress will be held here in Moscow. Among the participants are 14 countries, including India”, – said Evgeny Kozlov.
Business tourism between Russia and India is developing rapidly. Earlier in April this year, the Moscow delegation has already visited India on a business mission and presented the potential of the Russian capital in such cities as Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. More than 160 tour operators from India joined the business mission and 1.3 thousand negotiations took place. An important event was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Moscow and NIMA on April 25. The document is aimed at strengthening cooperation in the sphere of business tourism. The parties plan to help each other in training personnel for this sector, exchange useful analytics to accurately assess business tourist flows and expand opportunities for organizing business trips to and from Moscow.
