The Development of Business Tourism in Russia. Часть 2

Unfortunately, in Russia business travellers can face some problems. Daily expenses of a businessman on average are three times higher than those of an ordinary tourist. Accommodation, transport and catering and the so -called presentation costs are high. For comparison - in 1990 an ordinary tourist spent 150 euros per day, and in 2010 he was about the same. Business tourist spent 360 euros per day in 1990, but, in 2010, he spent 1,070 euros a day. [2]

Telecommunications is not in the best position in Russian regions. If you suddenly want to hold a business seminar in the Russian province, enticed by low rental prices and food, you will likely encounter problems such as the lack of suitable rooms for holding events, the availability of computers, the organization of the Internet and mobile communications. In this case the only available way to urgent transfer business documents from the regions will be express mail EMS Garantpost. Another problem is that only a small amount of Russian companies can afford corporate events.

To organize a business trip a lot of points must be taken into consideration: visa service, train and air tickets, transfers, car or bus rental, booking hotels of any other accommodation, information support, guides, organization of negotiations, business meetings, excursions and cultural program, conference halls and meeting rooms, special equipment, catering, coffee breaks and lunches etc. The main feature of a company organizing a business tour must be an individual approach to each client.

The Republic of Karelia possesses unique natural resources and strong potential for the development of different types of tourism, including business travel. As a border region, Karelia has an advantageous geopolitical between other economically developed regions in both Russia and Europe, and thus plays an important role in fostering and strengthening economic links between them.

Motor, rail and water routes connect Karelia with Russia’s regions and neighbouring countries, which makes it easy to access. Three airports, 3 airfields, 11 landing grounds and a helicopter aerodrome operate in Karelia. Petrozavodsk International Airport is a critical transport hub for Russia’s North-Western region. So, the transportation expenses are not high.

Among all the hotels situated in Petrozavodsk there are four major ones which could provide facilities for business meetings and conferences. They are Park Inn ( 4*, for 400 persons), Onego Palace (4*, for 200 persons),Onezhsky Zamok (3*, for 66 persons). All of them provide a full range of services for organization conferences, seminars and also intensive tours at a high level. Conference halls and rooms for negotiations are well equipped. A well trained staff can help to hold a business meeting.

A lot of business forums, conferences, fairs etc are held in Karelia. Four Key business centres and business platforms function in Petrozavodsk. They are Severnaya Hotel Business Centre, Karelia Hotel Business Centre, Sweden-Karelia InformationalBusiness Centre and OOO Expocentre. An infrastructure for innovation driven developmentis built in theRepublic of Karelia. It includes the Regional Innovation Complex and IT Park at Petrozavodsk State University, the Ukko Innovation Centre, the Karelia Technology and Innovation Transfer Centre at the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Karelia Business Incubator. Karelia develops numerous investment projects [3].

Besides, business trips include informative visits to the main sights of the region and entertainment program when the participants can go to the countryside or on a trip to relax and socialize in an informal atmosphere. There are a lot of opportunities to accommodate business travelers outside of Petrozavodsk in recreation centres: Lamberg (Sortavalsky municipality), Zaonego.Ru (Medvezhegorsky municipality), Raduga, The Thirteenth Cordon (Pitkyarantsky municipality), Shishki (Kondopozhsky municipality), Sonostrov (Loukhsky municipality), Ust- Vidlitsa (Olonetsky municipality) etc.

Karelia is very rich in cultural-historical and natural objects, able to satisfy various tourists’ interests. The most popular tourist destinations and most prominent monuments and sights are: Kizhi State Open-Air Museum of History, Architecture and Ethnography; Kostomukshsky State Nature Reserve, Valaam Island, Ruskeala Mountain Park, Paanajarvi National Park Petroglyphs on the eastern bank of Lake Onega Vodlozersky National Park Kalevala National Park The White Sea petroglyphs Seitas on Kuzova Islands in the White Sea Solovetsky Archipelago (Arkhangelsk Region) Marcial Waters health resort Vazheozersky Monastery and others. This is not a complete list of all the attractions of Karelia, but if touristsare limited in time they can enjoy the national color visiting the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia, make a walk along the Onega stroll promenade, with its original sculptures and sample local cuisine at the restaurant Karelskaya Gornitsa.

About 90 tour companies work in Karelia, but unfortunately, none of them specializes in organization of business travel [7].Everything mentioned above makes Karelia a perfect place to develop business tourism.
References
1. [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/business-trip (Дата обращения: 15.04.2016)
2. Irina Tarasova . The tourism sector and business tourism activities in Russia. [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://repositorio.upct.es/bitstream/handle/10317/3584/tfm299.pdf?sequence=1 (Дата обращения: 15.04.2016)
3. Guide to Investment Republic of Karelia. Электронный ресурс] http://www.pwc.ru/en/doing-business-in-russia/assets/pwc invest karelia-eng.pdf (Дата обращения: 10.04.2016) [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://expoforum-center.ru/en/calendar/rossijskij-mezhdunarodnyj-energeticheskij-forum-2016/ (Дата обращения: 17.04.2016) [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://transweek.ru/2014/en/forum/ (Дата обращения: 17.04.2016)
4. [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://www.mir-fomm.m/eng/www.slavyanka.com(Дата обращения: 17.04.2016)
5. Туристский портал Карелии [Электронный ресурс] URL:http://www.ticrk.ru/companies/?p=1

Abstract: The article tells about business tourism and some problems that it faces. The author gives a detailed description of business tourism and its importance for any country. Special attention is devoted to the rapid growth of this sector of tourism in Russia and some technological gaps of our country, compared with foreign ones, which could be a barrier for development of business travel.
Key words: business trip, business tourism infrastructure, business centres, business platforms development, informative visit, tourist destination, the Republic of Karelia.

А. С. Юшкова