Russia’s national CVB opens to the world at IMEX

The Russian Convention Bureau is taking part in IMEX Frankfurt for a second time this year. The event, which runs 21-23 May, is annually attended by some 14,000 meetings and events industry professionals from 150 countries. The still relatively new, national CVB will spearhead the ‘Russia Open to the World’ stand and Presidential Advisor Anton Kobyakov said: “One of the tasks that government officials, state bodies and professional unions face is to promote the positive image of our country abroad. As of today, the Russia Open to the World brand is well recognised among professionals of the industry and has been associated in their minds with the Russian traditions of hospitality.” Kobyakov added that the stand and participants would demonstrate the regional potential for holding events and attracting international business events to Russia. “Russia is a fairly new destination in the event sphere, which has been habitually associated abroad with Moscow and St Petersburg,” Kobyakov continued. “It is important for us to tell our business partners that Russia has tremendous and varied infrastructure for holding events in various cities in 85 Russian regions.” “We have a total of 3,500 venues and more than 7,500 professional companies on this market. Varied regional peculiarities in the sphere of industry, science specialisation and infrastructural capabilities allows us to offer a most relevant proposal for events of any level in a particular region,” added Alexei Kalachev, head of the Russian delegation and CEO of the Russian Convention Bureau. “I am confident that at IMEX-2019 our exposition will demonstrate the boundless event potential of our country, and will allow the participants of the Russian delegation to establish new business relationships with foreign colleagues.” The Russian Open to the World stand will host exhibitors from Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Sochi and Ufa. The stand space will include the Presentation Zone, the Negotiation Zone, the Co-Exhibitor Work Zone and a Photo Zone. The programme on stand G340 will also include an introduction to Russian traditions, tasting of national dishes and other activities.