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Kommersant newspaper published the annual citation ratings. In the rating «The Most Cited Business Leaders of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region» Sergey Voronkov, President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, General Director of ExpoForum International was ranked 13th and became the only representative of the convention and exhibition industry included into the study.

The citation rating includes people whose activity in the past year gained the most attention of business community.

The regional establishment representatives are ranked according to the statistics of being cited in the key business mass media presented by the North-West editor’s offices within the period from January 1, 2023 till January 1, 2024: Kommersant, Business Petersburg, RBK and Fontanka. Counting is made manually on the websites of media and in the service of Integrum agency.

Besides, Sergey Voronkov ranked 5th in the rating «The Most Close Associates of Authorities». This rating takes into account mentioning of business leaders of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region in mass media in the same paragraph with the Governor of Saint Petersburg Aleksandr Beglov and/or the Governor of the Leningrad Region Aleksandr Drozdenko in 2023.

The 5th place was also held by Sergey Voronkovin the rating «The Most Charitable». It included Representatives of the regional establishment ranked in accordance with the statistics of being mentioned in the key business mass media (Kommersant, Business Petersburg, RBK and Fontanka) with the words from a semantic cloud «Charity» in SCAN-Interfax.

Applying unmanned technologies to solving environmental problems of the metropolis will be demonstrated at the 23rd International Forum “Ecology of the Big City”, which will be held on March 27–29 at the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Center.

During thematic case-session, experts will talk about successful practices in applying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

For example, in St. Petersburg, they plan to launch unmanned air delivery of cargo weighing up to 30 kg. This will reduce the load on urban road networks, increase the connectivity of remote areas of the city and environmental friendliness of urban transport systems.

Another area of applying UAVs is firefighting in high-rise buildings. So, drones of the Infintech Corporation are equipped with shells with extinguishing powder. And now developing drones that will be able to lift fire hoses and break windows on their own for saving people is in progress.

Unmanned vehicles can be not only aerial, but also aquatic. NPP PT Okeanos JSC presents marine robotics for environmental monitoring. The pilot models analyze water for the presence of toxic substances, evaluate its quality near treatment facilities. The development will be displayed at the exhibition exposition of the Forum.

Drones are also used for performing cadastral works. The Geoscan Group of Companies did 3D scanning of the area of over 25 thousand sq. km using UAVs. Over 6 million photos have been received.

Geoscan drones can also measure the magnetic field at a mineral deposit, which accelerates the subsurface exploration tenfold. This is especially important, since deposits currently are explored in locations to be difficult for humans to reach.

For the Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety of St. Petersburg, the company conducted aerial photography and thermal imaging for the presence of unauthorized waste, including those on the shores of reservoirs. The technology also allows monitoring the filling capacity of waste landfills, assessing the risk of fires and concentration of pollutants.

Finally, drones are actively used by the State Unitary Enterprise Fuel and Energy Complex of St. Petersburg for performing diagnostics of the heating mains condition.

These and other cases will be discussed at the session “The Current Situation on Application of Unmanned Technologies for Solving Environmental Problems” on March 27 in Pavilion E. Beginning at 14:00.

“Experts from 145 cities of Russia and 10 other countries will take part in the Big City Ecology Forum. Over 4 thousand visitors are expected: representatives of authorities, science, business, environmental organizations, specialized associations, environmental protection structures,” says Sergey Voronkov, CEO of the EXPOFORUM International.

On the days of the Forum, free shuttle buses will run from Moskovskaya Metro Station to the EXPOFORUM. Media registration is carried out on the official website of the project.

Participants of the round table “Tourism Business of the Northern Capital”, organized by the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper, shared how the St. Petersburg tourism market developed in 2023 and what role business tourism played in this.

The event took place on the day of the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly, in which the head of our state said that contribution of the tourism industry to Russia’s GDP would double by 2030, up to 5 %, and the number of tourist trips around the country – up to 140 million. Achieving the set targets became a key theme for discussing by participants of the round table – representatives of relevant government authorities, professional associations and experts.

The photo provided by the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper.

The total number of tourists visiting St. Petersburg in 2023 amounted to 9.4 million people, which is 16 % more than a year earlier. Herewith, against the background of the increase in tourist traffic, the average annual room occupancy of urban hotels increased from 64 to 66 %. St. Petersburg’s tourism revenues were provided by 86 % of guests from the regions of Russia, and another 11 % – by foreign citizens. Business tourism develops at the fastest pace: in 2023, the city received business tourists by 24 % more than in 2022.

Opening the round table, Sergey Korneev, Chair of the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee, noted that tourism in the city was essentially stimulated by the National Project “Tourism and Hospitality”, which began to be implemented in May 2021 on the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Sergey Korneev, the increase in tourist traffic for 2021–2023 amounted to 224 %, given the drop in tourist traffic because of the pandemic.

“Within the national project, we do a lot of work to increase domestic tourist traffic, employment in the tourism sector, as well as export of tourist services and the number of guests from abroad. Our guests are increasingly re-visiting the Northern Capital – almost every second tourist repeatedly returns to us. We establish contacts with other countries, participate in implementing various projects, and develop new areas. St. Petersburg has a lot to offer to travelers, and these capacities are inexhaustible,” stressed the head of the department.

One of the promising areas for attracting new tourist traffics is business tourism. Every eighth resident of Russia comes to St. Petersburg on business. Over 90 % of business tourists in St. Petersburg are domestic traffic. This type of tourism evens out seasonality, increases investment attractiveness of the destination, generates traffic and loads the entire infrastructure of the hospitality industry, as well as allows performing efficiently.

“In recent years, growing demand for industrial and business exhibitions has become a definite trend. The format of combined trips, blending business tourism with leisure, is popular. Following the results of 2022–2023, 25 % of corporate bookings involved weekends, and in the summer period – up to 82 %. We watch import substitution of foreign business forums, with corporate events to appear,” Sergey Voronkov, CEO of THE EXPOFORUM International, stressed in his speech.

The photo provided by the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper.

Development of business tourism is facilitated by growth in the number of small events for 200–500 people by three times – from 1000 to 3000, as well as growth in the number of event organizers from 135 to 400–500. According to the speaker, venues need to develop DMS (Digital Monetization System) services, which involve organizing the process from booking plane or train tickets, hotels, meals and transfers to finding suppliers and the event venues.

At the round table, representatives of the tourism, hotel and restaurant businesses, apartment hotels, industrial enterprises, museums and public spaces of St. Petersburg shared their opinions on the tourism development. The participants presented the tourist project “New Tourist Geography”, modern points of attraction, including “Sevkabel Port”, “Brusnitsyn” Cultural Quarter, “Palace of New Culture” (Kirov House of Culture), city and country hotels.

On January 17–19, the 3d All-Russian Contest of Event Posters was conducted at the Eurasian Event Forum, the poster of the Zooindustria Exhibition became the winner in the nomination of “Audience Choice Award”.

The contest participants include organizers of business, cultural, socially significant, youth, sports events, designers of posters and promotional items, representatives of marketing and advertising agencies, students of faculties of art and graphic design.

Zooindustria is the largest annual specialized exhibition of manufacturers and distributors of pet goods and services in the Northwestern region of Russia. The next Zooindustria will take place at the EXPOFORUM from February 28 to March 1.

Hurry up to become a participant of the first zoo industry business event in 2024! Details on participation in the exhibition, business program and Business Contact Center for manufacturers and suppliers of pet products and services can be found on the official website of the project.

On January 18, the organizers of the Russian annual event industry prize EFEA AWARDS announced and awarded its laureates at the solemn welcome reception of the 13th Eurasian Event Forum.

The EXPOFORUM International won an award for “Organizer of the Year. Region”.

NEVA 2023, the International Exhibition on Civil Shipbuilding, Navigation, Ports, and Ocean and Shelf Development, has become the best in the category “Project of the Year. Exhibition. Region”.

The list of participating companies is formed from the open sources. The winners are determined based on the results of the rating compiled by the number of mentions in Russian media publications, forums, exhibitions, congresses, festivals, event organizers and event venues.

What is the reason for the growth of the Russian event industry market? On January 18, at the panel discussion within the Eurasian Event Forum experts of the convention and exhibition industry discussed how to develop, replicate event projects and enter the international market under the current economic conditions.

Sergey Voronkov, General Director of the EXPOFORUM International, President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, acted as the event moderator.

“The event boom and relevance of the dialogue platforms are growing,” this thesis was unanimously approved by the event speakers – representatives of the Russian and foreign convention and exhibition industry.

“More opportunities for holding large-scale events will open up after the rearrangement and renovation of the regional event infrastructure,” thinks Aleksey Valkov, Deputy Director of Roscongress Foundation, Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Sergey Gorsky, General Director of Gefera Media, shared his opinion that after a number of foreign companies left, the new windows of opportunities are opening up for the industry: “Now you can fill the niches of international projects having left the Russian market”.

Aleksandr Ulyanov, General Director of Neva International, told about the growing demand for the organization of business missions to friendly countries, in particular, to China, as well as for the organized visits of foreign businessmen to Russia. He is of the opinion that the international agenda is one of the essential components of a successful event: “The project profitability primarily depends on whether it is demanded by the industry. Besides, the important component of any event is its international agenda and participants, as well as the cultural program. Emotions are something that a person keeps with him after visiting a city where the event takes place,” underlined the speaker.

The expert opinion on the industry development was also shared by Sergey Aleksandrov, General Director of Sigma Expo Group, and Arkady Kiselev, Deputy General Director, Head of the Urals Convention Bureau of the Investment Promotion Agency of the Sverdlovsk region.

The Festival will be held on June 15-17 in the Petrovsky Arsenal Office and Residential Complex. It will gather leading Russian and international lecturers and business gurus, who will share their invaluable experience, review cases and unveil some secrets of corporate affairs. Events of the Festival’s program will unfold on six stages and in four training rooms. Some 40 experts, including renowned marketer Igor Mann, retailer Dmitry Potapenko, entrepreneur Pavel Timets and others, will participate in the Event. The Festival invited Jordan Belfort, the author of The Wolf of Wall Street book and an inspiration for the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie of the same title, as its special guest.

The entertainment programme of the Big Business Fun Festival includes Aleksandr Druz’s intellectual trivia “What? Where? When?”, a mini golf tournament and a number of concerts and stand-up shows. The Petrovsky Arsenal Office and Residential Complex will house dozens of temporary restaurants and bars accommodating guests of the Forum.