How to attract tourists? – We create a beautiful story. On unknown paths How to find clients for a travel agency

There are more and more people traveling around the world every year. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 1.3 billion people out of the world's seven billion population traveled last year. And every year this figure increases. And the income from international tourism exceeds $1 trillion. The question is what place Russia can occupy in this system. There is potential, but its development in practice is lame, experts say.

Counting difficulties

Russia has not yet learned how to reliably count the incoming tourist flow. According to Rosstat, in 2017, 24.4 million people came to Russia for tourism purposes, and in 2016 - 24.6 million. These figures, however, also need to be trusted with caution: we simply count the facts of crossing the state border, without distinguishing whether a person is traveling, say, on business or to see the sights. Therefore, officially the most “tourist” countries in terms of entry are Ukraine (8.7 million trips) and Kazakhstan (3.5 million). But in fact, the leaders in the inbound flow are China (1.4 million) and Finland (1 million).

“For the last 10-15 years, nothing new has happened in inbound tourism. Just as we accepted 2.5–3 million people a year, we still accept them,” says CEO tourism holding UTS Group Alexey Krylov and adds: Paris alone is visited annually by 60 million tourists, the tourist flow to the USA exceeds 100 million people, and to China - 130 million. And four years ago the tourist flow to Georgia was exactly the same as to Russia, although These countries are difficult to compare in terms of territory and tourism potential.

Typical tourist

A traveler going to Russia, as a rule, comes here to get acquainted with history and see the sights. Beaches and skiing interest him little. Usually groups come; there are few individual tourists in our country. The geographical set is standard: Moscow and St. Petersburg are mandatory points of the program. " Golden ring", Baikal or Far East- additional. Among the unusual, experts noted the unexpected interest of foreign tourists in Moscow and St. Petersburg Christmas markets. This means that, apparently, Russia also has potential as an event tourism destination.

“It happens that wealthy tourists come, but as a result, the income from them is less than from insolvent ones. For example, St. Petersburg received about half a million cruisers. These are usually elderly rich people. But they live in a cabin on the ship, eat there, and don’t go to stores. So their contribution to the industry is minimal. And the budget group on the bus, which still uses internal transport, walks a lot and goes into shops, will bring much more income to the industry,” says Ivan Vvedensky, Chairman of the Commission for the Development and Support of Inbound Tourism of the Public Council under the Federal Agency for Tourism.

The geography of “suppliers” of foreign tourists is quite diverse. Although there is also an undisputed leader in terms of dynamics - China, which is gaining 30-50% annually, while Europe has been showing a decline for several years in a row.

“The last two years we have seen an increase in volumes after a decline. Europe is not as active as it used to be. But we receive a lot of Japanese, tourists from South-East Asia- These are mainly middle class people from Malaysia and Vietnam. They have been traveling very actively lately. They are coming from Australia and New Zealand. But in this case, they combine tours with Europe,” adds Marina Levchenko, general director of the tour operator Tari Tour.

Tour operators note: foreigners come to Russia, as a rule, for a week. This tour includes a visit to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and ground handling. Often foreigners immediately buy a flight to Russia from a tour operator. The average cost of a week-long tour in this case varies from $1000 to $2500.

There is no stability in the world

What hinders the development of inbound tourism in Russia? Experts are sure: it’s all about numerous and multidirectional phenomena that occur not only in the industry, but also in the country as a whole.

“Turbulence is typical for entry in 2014-2018. It [the market] was shaking, it was happening in unpredictable conditions. These are political issues, the depreciation of the ruble - on the one hand. Major events - the Olympics in Sochi, the Confederations Cup, the World Cup - they will also certainly have an impact. There is reason to believe that in 2019 the industry will reach stable levels,” says Ivan Vvedensky.

Besides political situation tourist flow is influenced by security and availability developed infrastructure, continues Alexey Krylov. Moreover, these two points can often be intricately intertwined.

“For many foreign tourists, Moscow and St. Petersburg are cities that are on their own list of things to see at least once in their life. Therefore, they want, for example, to visit the Kremlin museums or go to the Hermitage. They book these tours six months in advance. And then on the day of your visit it may turn out that the museum is closed because there is a rehearsal for the Victory Parade or the presidential inauguration, and no one even reported this. I understand that such situations may occur, but warn about them in advance, publicly,” says Krylov.

Also in Russia, it is by no means everywhere possible to find a suitable hotel that suits a foreign guest. This problem is often encountered by tourists going to the Far East or Lake Baikal. But sometimes it arises even in the most popular areas.

“There are few quality hotels in St. Petersburg; you can’t lure foreigners with mini-hotels. But for some reason investors are not coming into the hotel industry. And the city leadership is of the opinion that tourists go to St. Petersburg only in the summer, and not in the winter. But it seems to me that if there were enough hotels, we would travel all year round. No matter how many hotels you build in St. Petersburg, there won’t be enough,” shares Marina Levchenko.

Finally, difficulties in promoting the country as a tourist destination (and Rostourism has repeatedly said that the marketing budget is much lower than that of other countries) also do not contribute to the growth of its popularity.

Complex visas

Makes life very difficult foreign tourists and Russian visa rules, experts say. Chinese organized groups do not require visas, with South Korea visas have been abolished, a similar regime applies to a number of other Asian countries and Latin America. But at the same time, most traveling citizens entry documents needed. To get a visa, you need to receive an invitation, fill out an application and pay a hefty sum. It can take a long time to review documents.

“The procedure is quite long. And besides, issuing visas increases the cost of the tour by $100-120. If they are not abolished, then at least electronic ones should be introduced,” says Marina Levchenko.

A colleague from UTS Group agrees with her. “If visas were abolished, even with what is being done in inbound tourism now, the tourist flow could be doubled,” says Alexey Krylov.

Ivan Vvedensky from the Public Council under Rosturizm also notes that the abolition or simplification of visa procedures would lead to a significant increase in tourist flow. He recalled that a free port regime has begun to operate in Vladivostok, which involves simplifying visa formalities for tourists. This practice needs to be extended to other coastal regions, the expert believes. In addition, it is necessary to simplify visa processing for tourists visiting other regions of the country.

“To obtain a visa, we need an invitation from the host party. I believe that this is a rudiment and needs to be eliminated. We are pushing for changes to the entry and exit laws so that foreigners can obtain a visa based on a hotel reservation, like in Europe. Visas must be electronic. In addition, we lag behind progressive humanity in the sense that other countries issue multiple visas for more long term than travel dates. We need political will to change this situation,” Vvedensky believes.

Weak ruble and professional tricks

However, Russia has great tourism potential and good opportunities to unleash it. This will be facilitated, oddly enough, by the consequences of economic difficulties. In particular, the depreciating ruble, which makes spending by foreigners in Russia more and more enjoyable.

“In the 2000s, a lot was built in Moscow and St. Petersburg good hotels for business. In 2014, the business ended, and the occupancy of 4* and 5* hotels fell by 50%. Hoteliers have reduced prices, and staying with them has become very profitable. At the same time, the price corresponds to the quality, since these are, as a rule, objects of international networks. Add to this an inexpensive taxi, tickets to museums at competitive prices, a check at a restaurant - in foreign currency all this is very attractive now,” says Krylov.

In addition, experts remind that transport in Russia is also developing. High-speed rail connections make the main tourist centers closer to each other. And the expansion of flight programs of Russian carriers helps to interest tourists from the most remote corners of the Earth in Russia.

Almost every Russian region calls the development of tourism a priority, but few can boast of real success in this matter. Meanwhile, experts in the field of territorial development believe that regions need to learn how to invest and earn money from tourism using modern business tools. Russian Tourism discussed with experts how to properly attract tourists to the regions.

1. Decide on a goal. The authorities of any region must first decide why they need tourism, says Nadezhda Makatrova, general director of the consulting company “Konkretika”. The experience of Chukotka is indicative in this regard. It is obvious that millions of tourists will never come to the peninsula (it is far and expensive for most Russians), so the district leadership has set a very realistic target - two to three thousand travelers a year. The main task of developing the industry is to keep the local population occupied so that they do not leave for other regions and become drunkards, as, unfortunately, happens in a number of Russian regions.

But if the main goal is to replenish the treasury, you need to analyze your own resources and capabilities, the experience of your neighbors, existing demand, supply and decide on the correct positioning. Often regions don’t even need to invent something new; it’s enough to talk with experts and tourists, find out, for example, on forums, why people most often come to this area, what they photograph, and what they recommend to friends to see.

2. Find differences. Sometimes regional administrations do not find an answer to one of the main questions: how will tourism here differ from tourism in other places? Meanwhile, positioning is the basis that determines the vector of development and helps tourists make right choice. For example, in Altai there are practically no mosquitoes - a significant factor for lovers of outdoor recreation. But this information is known only to local residents and, perhaps, tourists from neighboring regions and is not at all obvious to Muscovites. However, neither the regional authorities nor travel agencies pay practically any attention to this.

“The formed tourism product should become as understandable as possible for tourists. In other words, people must clearly understand why they should go, for example, to resorts North Caucasus, and not, for example, to Turkey,” says Anna Dinelt, director of the Regional Marketing Agency.

3.Choose a slogan. This is another step in positioning the territory. Moreover, the very common “soul”, “heart”, “eyes” and other parts of the body of Russia are not very successful. You should not copy famous slogans of other countries. For example, the slogan “Smile, you are in Spain” when transferred to Russian reality can, at a minimum, cause a comic effect.

5. Don't stop halfway. A successful example of the start of promoting the image of territories can be the actions of two Siberian regions - Omsk and Kemerovo regions. In the first case, the authorities took the path of creating an official brand, which has already begun to attract attention to the region. In Kemerovo, the myth about the existence of the Yeti is actively exploited, and journalists and film crews regularly come to Kuzbass to search for it. However, Anna Dienelt admits, these are only the first steps, which must be supported by a strategy: “It’s not enough to invent a logo and slogan. You can print them on a T-shirt, but what next? It is important that the region is included in the competition for hosting international events that can attract tourists.”

Of course, a country’s brand is created with the aim of attracting tourists. But besides this, a number of factors influence the increase in the number of tourists: the remoteness of the country, the level of security, the presence of developed infrastructure, the number of major events held and many others.

There is no universal formula for creating a country brand that would help attract a certain percentage of tourists to the country, emphasizes Igor Blagodarsky. In each case, brand promotion is supported by real changes in the country.

The brand’s work with internal audiences plays almost the main role. It is the residents of the country and companies working in the field of tourism and beyond that will create the experiences that the country’s brand promises to its guests

Which countries' branding is the most striking, conceptual and memorable?

One example is Iceland. Since the 2010s, it has experienced a tourism boom with double-digit annual tourist growth. The concept of a country brand is an offer to be inspired by a unique and mysterious lifestyle. This message was actively promoted in in social networks and on YouTube. The brand's communication initiative turned out to be so infectious that a series of Iceland Academy videos launched a wave of others, already created by Icelanders themselves. As a result, the country, which was previously associated with ice and a volcano with an unpronounceable name, has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers from Europe and North America, and annual GDP per capita increased in 9 years from $5,000 to $45,000.

Among the countries former USSR Perhaps the most interesting example is Georgia. It attracted the attention of tourists from European countries and reactivated the flow of tourists from Russia. According to open data, the contribution of tourism to the country’s GDP today is 18%.

By the way, a city can also be a brand. In 2010, our agency developed a brand for Melbourne that presented the city as the creative and progressive capital of Australia. After two years of branding, the city's GDP grew by 10% to $56.8 billion, and revenue from external tourism increased by 5% to $3.4 billion.

Most recently, we presented the idea of ​​​​a new brand for Azerbaijan - “Look in a New Way”. The brand's visual identity consists of two figures that together form an icon stylized as a capital letter "a", symbolizing Azerbaijan.

A new visual symbol is a lens that allows you to see more, look at a place and its culture from a different perspective

What components does a country’s “brand book” consist of?

The brand book itself is not the goal of any branding project. The brand book only formalizes all strategic and conceptual developments and decisions within the project, and their list depends on the tasks at hand.

When developing the positioning of a tourism destination, special attention is paid to the target audience and the opportunities that the country already has. I'm talking about infrastructure, human resources, cultural attractions, business opportunities, transport accessibility.

It is also worth noting that the brand’s work with internal audiences plays almost the main role. It is the country's residents and companies (both in and outside of tourism) who will create the experiences that the country's brand promises to its guests. The brand must inspire local residents, which will further help spread a positive image around the world.

What was the most difficult thing in creating the Azerbaijan brand?

Be on time. We started working on the project in July and knew that on November 5th the brand had to be presented to the general public at the World Travel Market in London. Taking into account fairly strict timing, we built our processes so that time does not affect quality. To do this, our team of experts from different countries(including potential markets of Azerbaijan) worked intensively on the territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, the client’s team assisted us with work processes and brilliantly organized our trip to the country.

In a fairly short time, we were able to study the historical and cultural background of the country, the thinking and way of life of people, vision of the future, and opportunities to stand out in a competitive environment. This created a truly strong and credible positioning idea and a vibrant and vibrant brand.

What distinguishes the Azerbaijan brand from other eastern countries, for example, from Turkey, which also focuses on hospitality, natural diversity, centuries-old culture and the like?

Hospitality, natural diversity and centuries-old culture in themselves are not unique advantages. The uniqueness lies in the details and nuances, about which you can have a long separate conversation. And the mission of the Azerbaijan brand is to give guests a taste of these details, and for the residents of the country to do everything so that they are proud of them.

One of the key challenges for the country was that people know very little about it (even in countries former Union there are certain stereotypes about Azerbaijan that are far from reality). However, this also became an advantage. The Azerbaijan brand invites people to discover the mysterious essence of the country, turning travel into a kind of exploration.

Igor Blagodarsky

What are the statistics: travelers from which countries visit Azerbaijan? What are the expectations - will the new brand change the situation?

Tourists mainly come to Azerbaijan from Russia, the republics of the former Union and Iran. Recently there has been an increase in interest in the Middle East. The main goal of the brand is to stimulate an increase in flows from these markets, as well as attract the interest of tourists from Europe.

In 2017, the country welcomed 2.6 million tourists who spent more than $1.3 billion, propelling the country into the top tier of the world's fastest growing tourist destinations. The goal of the Azerbaijan Tourism Council is to double their number by 2023 and make tourism the second most important sector of the country’s economy.

Nadezhda Makatrova

How to attract tourists and become a tourism brand in Russia

If you want the world to change, become that change.

Mahatma Gandhi

Every obstacle is overcome with perseverance.

Leonardo da Vinci

Preface

How can we attract tourists? How not to get lost among thousands of proposals from other cities and countries? How to convince Russians that you can relax in comfort in Russia, and that a small town far from the Russian capitals is not necessarily a “hole”?

As practice shows recent years, these questions can be heard at all conferences, round tables and forums dedicated to the development of tourism in Russia. They are also heard during our conversations with representatives of local and regional administrations from different parts of the country. And these questions concern not only officials, but also heads of travel agencies, owners of hotels and restaurants, directors of museums, sanatoriums and even local residents who rent out their living space to vacationers...

So what to do? “Take an example from Myshkin!” – this dangerous advice is repeated, like a broken record, by various “gurus”. Myshkin is a wonderful city, but, firstly, its strategy is not suitable for everyone (Myshkin has about 6 thousand inhabitants), and secondly, it is pointless to copy the tip of the iceberg without seeing and understanding everything that is hidden from view in thicker than water.

Three or four years ago, participants in tourism exhibitions representing Russian cities and regions said: “All we need is money for advertising, and people will come to us!” Money was allocated, tourists did not come... Today there is a more professional understanding that attracting tourists is not so much advertising, but a whole task system, which need to be addressed at the territorial level. And this book is a story about who should solve these problems and how, what mistakes and pitfalls there may be, what resources can be used in the work and how to place emphasis. And of course, examples of success.

The book “How to attract tourists and become a tourism brand in Russia” is based on an analysis of the experience accumulated in Russia and the CIS, both successful and unsuccessful, as well as the experience of some foreign countries in the development of tourism and promotion of the territory in the tourism market. In addition, some observations and conclusions made while working on projects of the consulting company “Konkretika” served as material for the book.

This book is methodical, sometimes unpleasant and even offensive, since it tells not only about the opportunities and hidden potential of Russian cities and regions, but also about their typical mistakes and shortcomings. But the main value of the book, in my opinion, is the specific practical recommendations, explaining WHAT need to be done and HOW do, as well as 420 examples from real practice, providing rich soil for your own ideas and solutions.

I hope the book will become your assistant in your work. Have a productive reading!


Nadezhda Makatrova,

Director of the consulting company "Konkretika"

Tourism brand: to be or not to be?

Fate leads those who want to go, and drags those who do not want to go.

Cleanthes, ancient Greek philosopher (IV-111 centuries BC)


In the Soviet Union they had not heard of brands. But at the same time, all citizens of our huge and multinational country firmly knew that:

If you want to go to the sea, then you need to go to Black Sea coast Caucasus or Crimea. With small children - to Anapa or Evpatoria;

If there are no vouchers to the Black Sea, then to the Azov Sea, to Yeisk;

The intelligentsia preferred the Baltic states;

If you need treatment, the direct route is to the Caucasian Mineral Waters sanatorium;

For lovers of excursions and cultural and historical values ​​- Moscow, Leningrad, the cities of the Golden Ring and, perhaps, Pskov and Novgorod;

Military-patriotic education - Volgograd with its famous Mamayev Kurgan.

All Soviet people also knew about Baikal and Kamchatka, but they didn’t even dream of getting there - the flight was too expensive for a simple Soviet family to afford. Here they are - real tourism brands, created, by the way, with strong support from the state...

Of course, there were many others in the USSR interesting places and routes - “hits” on a district and regional scale, where they were constantly sent excursion groups from schools, universities, enterprises and institutions, but they could not compete with the all-Union “grandees”.

25 years have passed since perestroika...


Today, if you look at the MITT or Intourmarket exhibition in Moscow, you can see hundreds, if not thousands, of new tourist sites and routes across the country on stands. One is better than the other, with intriguing descriptions and amazing photographs. It would seem that new times mean new names.

No matter how it is!

Ask an ordinary Russian which cities or resorts in our country he considers the most popular among tourists, and you will most likely receive the same list. True, Crimea and the Baltic states (as foreign countries) will have to be deleted from it, and St. Petersburg will take the place of Leningrad. Allow your interlocutor to include foreign resorts in the list, and Türkiye and Egypt are guaranteed to be in the first place. I'm talking about mass routes. Skiers will usually call it Elbrus, fishermen will call it Astrakhan.

"How so? Why? Tourist potential Russia is not limited to 10–15 popular routes?! We have two orders of magnitude more of them!” – one of the readers will be indignant. The potential may not be limited, but the perception of tourists, according to the laws of marketing, is, alas, not rubber. The law states: the number of bright, memorable images on the market is limited. I recommend that you re-read the highlighted phrase two more times.

It is only at first glance that it seems that it is enough to come up with “something original” and you will be noticed. You can come up with anything you want, but here’s the question:

– Will they remember this (against the background of competitors’ proposals)?

– Will they buy it (by comparing different offers)? And buy not just one season, but at least ten years in a row.


For clarity, I will give two useful analogies.

1. Each class has its own “excellent student,” “low student,” “clown,” “athlete,” and its own “beauty.” And sometimes - your own “outcast” (remember the film “Scarecrow”). It is very problematic to characterize all other children in terms of their role in the class.

2. In the 90s Russian cities A lot of different stores and shops opened, and today most of them have “died”, giving way to online players. By the way, in Europe about 80% of goods are sold through chain stores.


What is the conclusion from this in relation to tourism?

In five years, a new pool of tourism brands of all-Russian significance will be formed in Russia. It is clear that Moscow and St. Petersburg will automatically retain their leadership positions due to their exceptional starting opportunities (just as there are three main TV channels in the country and... all the others). Our resorts will also be in a privileged position. warm seas(unless sudden climate change occurs). And who else will be included in the list of the strongest remains in question for now...

If the heads of the cities and regions mentioned at the beginning had actively developed during the 25 years of perestroika, and had not relied on the tourist resources accumulated over previous decades, then everyone else would not have been destined to catch up with them in the foreseeable future. However, they remembered the development only 5-7 years ago, thereby giving their neighbors a chance.

The importance of getting into the leader pool is illustrated by the Zipf curve (Zipf)

Picture 1

Zipf distribution (Zipf)


Those cities and regions that find themselves at the tail of this curve may not count on anything serious... Perhaps they don’t need this, and tourism for them is like birch sap in a regular grocery store: they hardly take it, but they have it for assortment .

At the same time, our conversations with representatives of local and regional administrations indicate that in many parts of Russia they take tourism seriously, hoping with its help to give a new impetus to the development of the territory and replenish the budget. For this purpose, short-term and long-term programs are being developed everywhere, new tourism brands are announced, advertising catalogs are printed, exhibitions and presentations are held, journalists are invited, etc.

Why can’t many cities and regions make a breakthrough and significantly increase the tourist flow? What needs to be changed at work? Subsequent chapters of the book will be devoted to a detailed answer to these questions, but here I will only outline the key points.

 

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