About the complex

From August 25 to July 3, Agrorus-2023 agricultural fair takes place at EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre. The new mascot of the project, white and fluffy AgroGus, came to the fair to check what it has in store for the demanding guests, learn the secret of the Vyborg pretzel, and fill his belly to the brim.

A goose is a flying bird, but our protagonist decided to take the subway to the fair. It’s more fun that way. Especially because there is a shuttle bus from Moskovskaya station (house No. 197 on Moskovsky Prospekt) running every 20 minutes which took him directly to EXPOFORUM absolutely free of charge.

Ordinary geese nibble on grass, but ours likes delicacies. So the white bird went straight to the farmer’s cheeses from the Leningrad Region. Representatives of a private cheese factory offered to taste cheddar, caciotta, cream cheeses, and sagrada cooked according to Spanish technology.

“Gourmet cheese is one of the exclusives. It is cooked by our cheesemaker using a secret recipe known only to him. There’s morbier that goes great with all drinks. They add ash from fruit trees to it,” said the factory representatives.

The secret of cheese was not revealed even to the goose, but he learned all the secrets of the Vyborg pretzel. Apparently, the whole trick is the rich history and recipes that pass through generations. By the way, besides pretzels, the Vyborg bakery makes cookies with nuts, buns, and much more.

Agrorus had traditionally gathered farmers from all over Russia. Arkhangelsk residents treated the goose with pickled mushrooms, fresh berries, and willow herb tea, which, according to them, helps against all diseases in the world.

AgroGus couldn’t take its beak off the Altai honey. Buckwheat, linden, acacia, pine honey, oleoresin, propolis. And also – wild bear honey, extracted right in the dense forests by brave Altai wild honey pickers.

Hospitable Belarusian brothers fed the goose to the brim. They even had a truly exclusive thing in store.

“Among Belarusian delicacies, polendvitsa is a must-try. The meatloaf is smoked on cherry wood shavings, so the flavor is incredible. And real Belarusian lard will go well with it,” said farmers from the brotherly Republic.

But Agrorus is not only a belly feast. Here you can find handy products for the household. They were brought by masters from Udmurtia.

“All our products are handmade without exception. We make all of our kitchen utensils and toys from the hardest woods – walnut, ash, mulberry, catalpa. We order the material from the Caucasus. There are spoons, cutting boards, purses, bark baskets made of our Siberian conifers, birch and juniper. Our pride is walnut chests and jewelry made of birch bark with natural stones,” said the guests from Izhevsk.

The goose also turned out to be an expert gardener, so he stayed in the rows of seedlings for a long time. He especially loved the incredible beauty and fragrance of the hydrangeas.

“Phantom variety hydrangea can grow up to two meters in height and width. A very beautiful variety is Samara Lydia. It turns bright maroon in September. And most importantly, hydrangeas do not require special care, they are completely unpretentious and can grow on any plot,” said the nursery owner.

You can visit the harvest festival, meet the fluffy Agro Goose, hug him, appear on a photo with him, and fill your fridge with all the best delicacies from August 25 to September 3. On August 30, Agrorus will be joined by a fair of farmers from the Leningrad Region. So there will be even more of the natural, delicious and healthy treats. Fish, meat, cheese, mushrooms, honey… Any food market would envy EXPOFORUM on these days. Hurry up before the goose eats it all!

A large reptile exhibition “World of Dinosaurs” will attract the attention of visitors to the Zooshow. Autumn 2023” exhibition on 2–3 September at EXPOFORUM. You can be photographed with pet reptiles, and their owners will share the secrets of raising and keeping exotic animals.

A three-year-old python Loki and a four-year-old boa constrictor Pirate have been familiar to Zooshow visitors since birth. They are annual attendees of the event, favorites of the public and the first choice for photoshoots. This year, the cold-blooded company is diversified by grass snakes, whip snakes, scorpions, giant cockroaches, eublefara lizards, crested geckos and bearded dragon lizards.

Giant Achatina land snails will also be of interest. They have proven to be excellent pets due to their cute appearance, unpretentiousness in keeping and hypoallergenic nature. Snails take up little space and fit in the palm of your hand. In the mouth of these animals there are approximately 25 thousand teeth, which are invisible to the human eye and represent a kind of a grater, designed to grind food. But Achatinas are actually safe, and in some ways even useful to humans. Cosmetologists have long ago adopted snail mucin and use it on an industrial scale in cosmetic products and procedures.

A snail lives for an average of 5–8 years in an aquarium and prefers an unpretentious diet of vegetables, fruit, and calcium, which it needs for shell growth.

Decorative African dwarf hedgehogs annually enchant visitors of the Zooshow with their cuteness, tidiness and absence of aggression. If they’re not sleeping, they’re eating. But they eat little, their main food being insects, lean meat, vegetables and fruit. They live about 7–8 years.

You can learn more interesting facts about reptiles at the lectures and workshops that breeders will deliver at the Zooshow!

Event dates: September 2–3, 2023, 10:00 to 18:00.

Venue: 64/1 Peterburgskoe Shosse, 64/1, EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre, Pavilion F.

On the days of the event, free shuttle buses run from Moskovskaya Metro Station to EXPOFORUM. Learn more at the official website of the project.

Passengers with pets are allowed to travel as long as they follow the rules of animal transportation.

Experts and leaders of the tourism industry named the most effective tool for promoting their products and services in foreign markets.

Representatives of the tourism business note that the best way to attract guests is to invite them to participate in international specialized business events and exhibitions.

In St. Petersburg, this opportunity is provided by the Committee for Tourism Development together with the Congress and Exhibition Bureau. Every year, together with tourism and hospitality enterprises, they take part in international specialized exhibitions, where they present the tourism potential of the city. The presentation of the Northern Capital at business events makes a significant contribution to creating an attractive image of the region and the country for tourists and business representatives.

“This format of cooperation helps St. Petersburg companies obtain useful contacts, meet potential partners and clients, and present new promising tour products, significant both for the city and tourism in general,” says Alena Firsh, Astra Marin GC Development Director.

When selecting priority international tourism events, Congress Bureau specialists analyze the global market, survey representatives of the city hospitality industry, and take into account official recommendations. Thus, in 2023, St. Petersburg’s stand was presented at eight major industry events in Russia, India, Iran, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Belarus.

One of the main tasks of the St. Petersburg Congress Bureau is to support companies engaged in tourism and related industries. To this end, the Bureau is actively developing a partner program with participation of the largest travel agencies and transport companies, hotels, professional industry associations, event organizers, as well as venues and exhibition objects that present their services at the stand.

Participation of St. Petersburg in international exhibitions is a part of a large marketing campaign, which is carried out by the Committee for Tourism Development, the City Tourist Information Bureau and the Congress and Exhibition Bureau together with representatives of the tourist business to attract visitors to the Northern Capital. They hold field presentations of tourist opportunities of the city under the slogan “Welcome to St. Petersburg!” aimed at direct communication of tourism industry professionals. In 2022, such meetings were held in 12 major metropolitan areas in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and the CIS.

“Exhibition projects implemented by the Congress and Exhibition Bureau open wide prospects for international and local promotion of business tourism, for creating new cooperative ties with companies from friendly countries. In turn, attracting business tourists contributes to the development of St. Petersburg’s tourism potential,” says Alexander Gorokhov, Deputy General Director for Commerce at ExpoForum International.

The work is carried out within the framework of the national project “Tourism and Hospitality Industry” initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. By 2030, an increase in the export of tourist services of Russia up to 22.3 billion US dollars and growth of foreign tourist traffic up to 16 million people are expected.

The 11th St. Petersburg International Health Forum (PIHF-2023) will be held on October 4–6 in EXPOFORUM. A large-scale business program will open with the plenary session “Modern Metropolitan Health Planning”. Specialists from Russia, CIS and foreign countries will discuss the experience of organizing the system of health protection of citizens.

The experts will focus on the development of a healthy urban environment in Russia’s megacities: modern approaches to the management of the healthcare system, introduction of information and communication technologies, elimination of the shortage of nursing staff and doctors of narrow specialties.

More than 6,500 participants and visitors from Russia, Belarus, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Armenia are expected at PIHF-2023. More than 55 companies will present their achievements in the field of healthcare at the exposition of the Forum.

Industry, government and business professionals are invited to participate in the event, including heads of federal and regional government authorities of the Russian Federation and CIS countries, major medical organizations, mandatory health insurance funds, leading educational and scientific organizations, representatives of WHO in Russia, expert, scientific and professional communities, non-profit and public organizations, representatives of business and patient community.

Over 200 authoritative speakers will take part in 60 scientific and practical conferences.

Key events of the business program: Forum “Medical Rehabilitation BRICS-2023”, Expert Forum on Health and Medical Tourism, sessions on medical and health tourism with international participation, 4th Interregional Scientific and Practical Conference of the North-West Federal District “Medicine and Quality. Ensuring the quality and safety of medical activities”.

Programs of 17 profile events were submitted for evaluation to the Coordinating Council for the Development of Continuing Medical Education (CME) by specialties of the target audience.

The thematic blocks of the PIHF-2023 business program touch upon systemic healthcare issues, including principles of financing medical care, insurance medicine, drug provision, personnel policy, medical devices production policy, import substitution and expert support of market participants, medical rehabilitation of SMO participants. The program includes discussion of such specialties as oncology, cardiology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, pediatrics, reproductive medicine, urology, plastic surgery, transplantology, and others.

See detailed information and register for participation at the official website of the forum: https://pmfz.expoforum.ru

Large regional chains, restaurants and agro-industrial enterprises interested in new suppliers and partners will become participants of the Business Contact Centre (BCC) at Agrorus exhibition in EXPOFORUM.

BCC is intended for direct negotiation between producers and buyers in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. On August 30, large restaurants and retail chains will be able to find new offers, and August 31 is the day for agribusinesses.

On the last day of summer, the Centre will also host the conference “Presentation day of agro-industry for homestead farms” with participation of federal retail chains. Speakers include representatives of Magnit, X5 Group, Rusagro, and Ingria business Incubator.

Among the invited guests are representatives of the Consulates of Hungary, Sri Lanka and Namibia.

In 2022, more than 1,400 meetings were held in one day at the Business Contact Centre.

The list of purchasers included: X5 Group, Magnit, Auchan, Metro Cash&Carry, “Azbuka Vkusa”, “Perekrestok”, “Real”, “Vkusvill”, “Vkuster”, “Svetofor”, “Dobrotsen”, “Kak Syr V Masle”, RZHD, “Wine Bar and Market Pulkovo”, “Eto U Nas Semeynoe”, “Kolkhoz”, “Rainblade” (distribution of Tatneft Gas Stations), “Retail Navigator”, “Rybka & Ikorka”, “Repinsky Supermarket”, “Zhivi Naturalno”, “Fasol”, “Karavai”, “Yandex Lavka”, “Meteor Group”, “Fine Gastronomy”, and others.

In 2023, suppliers will be able not only to personally talk with buyers, but also to demonstrate the quality of their products at special ready-equipped stands in the procurement session area.

Get an up-to-date list of participants and register as a potential supplier or buyer at the official website of the event.

Even before the opening, EXPOFORUM became a film set for a famous director. Over 10 years, the picturesque Convention and Exhibition Centre has been the “character” of dozens of films and TV series. Which? See on the interactive Cinema Map of Russia.

Director Alexey German Jr. was the first to see the cinematic potential of the site during its construction. A futuristic wave of its passageway with scattered portholes on the ceiling is shown in “Under Electric Clouds”, winner of 2015 Venice Film Festival.

Over the decade of EXPOFORUM’s operation, its diverse interiors have played the role of airport, hospital, prison, press centre, government offices, FBI and insurance company.

Panoramic glazing, high ceilings, modern design and flexibility of wide areas have been favoured by film producers, music video directors and advertisers.

The most famous films are marked on the interactive Cinema Map of Russia, an online map of geographical locations significant to the film industry. The project shows where famous Russian film projects were shot around the world.

The peculiarity of the project is that not only the project creators and film authors, but also users of the service will be able to add cinematic locations. “Kino-Theatre.Ru”, who are the authors of the project, disclosed plans to develop unique tourist film routes based on geotags.

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August 10 is the anniversary of Ecuador’s declaration of independence from Spanish colonization in 1809. Sergey Voronkov, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Ecuador in St. Petersburg with jurisdiction in the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov Regions, Director General of ExpoForum International, congratulates the residents of the Latin American country on this holiday.

“I congratulate all the people of the Republic of Ecuador on one of the most important national holidays. The country is among the five Latin American states with which Russia has the largest trade turnover, now reaching $2 billion, with a growth of almost 29% in 2022. We will continue to make every effort to expand cooperation with Ecuador, with which we have a long-standing partnership in all areas, from business to sports and culture,” Voronkov said.

Sergey Voronkov became Honorary Consul of the Republic of Ecuador in St. Petersburg in 2020. The Honorary Consul’s tasks include supporting relations, cultural ties and business, and helping Ecuadorian citizens who live in Russia.

Russian and foreign participants with the status of Exhibitor, VIP and Delegate can use the service and schedule meetings.

From September 18 to 21, 2023, the 17th International Maritime Exhibition for Commercial Shipping, Shipbuilding, Offshore Energy, Ports, Inland Waterways and Oceanography NEVA 2023 will for the first time host the Business Contact Centre for meetings and negotiations with the participation of Russian and foreign companies.

In order to schedule a meeting and/or accept an invitation to a meeting, it is necessary to register and create a personal profile in the electronic service module of the Business Contact Centre.

Meetings in scope of the Business Contact Centre service will be available at:

• Business Contact Centre site in Pavilion E;
• Exhibitor’s booth;
• Lounge areas for delegates.

VIP membership package holders can also schedule appointments in dedicated rooms:

• Arctic Business Hall;
• Marine Business Hall.

Meetings can also be organized in an online format.

Users of the Business Contact Centre can order the following additional services:

• Individual scheduling of appointments;
• Consecutive translation from/into Russian, English, Chinese, and Turkish.

More than 120 international exhibitors, delegations from CIS countries, China, Turkey, India, South Africa, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia and other friendly states are expected to participate.

The St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee announced the beginning of the submission of applications for subsidies for the organization and holding of congress and exhibition events from companies involved in business tourism in St. Petersburg. Documents will be accepted until September 29, 2023.

Subsidies will be allocated in accordance with the decree of St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov on additional measures to support business tourism. Companies that organized and implemented congress and exhibition events in St. Petersburg between June 2, 2022 and September 1, 2023, will be eligible for budgetary aid.

Applicants must meet a number of criteria. The duration and number of participants of the event are assessed, as well as the organization’s experience in implementing congress and exhibition events similar in the theme and scale. A separate advantage is holding the event in the low tourist season. Events should be actively publicized in the media.

The congress and exhibition industry of the Northern Capital is supported within the framework of the state program “Development of Tourism in St. Petersburg”. Subsidies are designed to promote the rise of business tourism, implementation of initiatives of socially-oriented non-profit organizations, increase business activity in the “low” season (from November to March), as well as to increase the volume of exports of tourist services and attract new congress and exhibition events to our city.

Business tourism is one of the priority areas of the hospitality industry in St. Petersburg. The average check per trip for a visitor coming to a city with business purposes is much higher than a regular tourist’s.

“Last year, business tourism brought more than 142 billion rubles to the city budget. And this is not to mention the indirect effect of the contracts concluded, which generally exceeds a trillion rubles. Now St. Petersburg receives one million business tourists, but there is a potential to reach 5 million. All the necessary infrastructure is in place. We need business activities, support of events and their venues by the authorities, as well as development of cooperation with friendly countries,” says Sergey Voronkov, General Director of ExpoForum International.

In 2022, the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre hosted more than 120 events, more than 20 of which were ExpoForum International’s own projects. During the year, the complex was visited by about one million people. The media published more than 18 thousand articles about EXPOFORUM and the events it hosts.