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OTDYKH Leisure to mark 25 years of success

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OTDYKH Leisure

OTDYKH Leisure is back September 10-12 2019 with its 25th edition of the world-renowned travel expo. The expo will showcase an impressive 900 exhibitors from over 80 countries and Russian regions, providing a fantastic opportunity for international companies in the travel industry looking to tap-in to the flourishing and lucrative Russian travel market.

The Russian tourist industry has faced a difficult few years due a number of factors including the 2014 devaluation of the Russian ruble which increased foreign travel costs by over 20%. However, government statistics show that Russian outbound tourism has grown exponentially and has now almost reached peak pre-crisis levels, with Russian travellers making close to 40,000 trips abroad in 2017.


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Turkey has firmly regained its position as Russia’s favourite tourist destination with the number of visitors rising by 25% in 2018. In 2017 alone, Turkey received 4.72 million Russian visitors, with total statistics for 2018 expected to stand at six million.

Other top tourist destinations for Russian holiday-makers include Greece, Cyprus, Tunisia, Spain, Italy, France and the United Arab Emirates.

Domestic tourism also heavily increased last year when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup. An estimated seven million tourists visited Russia from hundreds of countries all over the world, strengthening Russia’s international profile and breathing new life into the country’s tourism industry.

At the heart of the Russian travel industry, and a major driving-force behind the growth in the market is the annual world-renowned OTDYKH fair, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The name OTDYKH means “leisure”, and since the expo’s inception that has been the focal point of the annual event. The OTDYKH Leisure trade fair was founded in 1994 in order to facilitate networking between businesses and representatives in the tourism industry, and to showcase the potential in the Russian market. In 2008 the OTDYKH Leisure trade fair was awarded a Quality Label by the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF), cementing its status as Russia’s leading travel and tourism event.

Last year’s expo was a resounding success with over 38,000 visitors over the three days, and 287 media attendees from 80 media partners, expertly combining the B2B areas of Leisure Travel, Medical, Spa and Health Tourism and Luxury Travel including Gourmet & Wine tourism.

The Dominican Republic – a major winter holiday destination with over 240,000 Russian tourists visiting in 2017 – were the proud partners of the 2018 OTDYKH leisure trade fair. The Ministry of Tourism for the Dominican Republic and thirteen co-exhibitors hosted a 200m² stand (twice the size of 2017) delighting visitors with a series of cultural and artistic performances, traditional music, dances and Caribbean cuisine.

This year the expo promises dozens of exciting events across multiple conference halls, hundreds of expert guest speakers and thousands of visitors from across the travel industry.

Exhibitors are invited to participate and celebrate the 2019 OTDYKH Leisure trade fair and celebrate 25 years of the expo’s continued success. Early-bird offers are available on a first-come-first serve basis to those looking to get involved in this extraordinary event, a veritable cornerstone of the Russian travel industry.

Travel Insurance – When Is Europe Not Europe?

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Holiday destinations in countries for example Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco are incredibly popular. When purchasing travel cover on your trip or holiday it will not get lucky and you that some of these destinations may not be categorized under ‘Europe’ for insurance purposes. For example, an insurer may not include Turkey or Egypt in Europe under their policies, so that choosing forced to get a ‘Worldwide’ policy to be covered for travel in those areas.

Next time you buy travel cover on the Internet take notice of the box with a question mark [?] next to the drop-down menu underneath the section marked ‘Area’ or ‘Destination’ or similar wording in the ‘Obtain a Quote’ section. The drop-down menu usually provides choice, which will be worded differently from company to company and might include the following:

Europe Worldwide (excluding USA/Canada) Worldwide (including USA/Canada) Australia and New Zealand

It is vital that you find the correct area on your travels, and always double-check that anyone company or insurer won’t exclude your destination country from that geographical area. This issue originates under scrutiny recently regarding cover for Turkey and Egypt, and whether or not the countries are categorised within Europe for travel insurance purposes.

Individual insurance providers and underwriters may rate destinations differently, so never assume all of them are exactly the same. It is important to make use of the [?] box when finding a quote online, and look which you have purchased the correct cover on your destination when you press ‘Buy’. If you purchase insurance over the phone you’ll be asked to your destination country or countries and the proper cover will be applied automatically.

Insurance underwriters typically rate a geographical area based with a mix of factors, including:

Civil stability Any potential threat to tourism The expense of treatment and repatriation

Many travellers might discover geographical areas as well as the way insurers rate them and their associated risks very puzzling. Take North Africa for instance: Libya, Tunisia and Algeria are neighbours, geographically speaking, and yet Tunisia will be the only country from the three which is classified to within Europe for insurance purposes.

Most companies produce a differentiation between Worldwide cover that includes the USA and Canada, and Worldwide cover that excludes the USA and Canada. The premium is obviously higher for Worldwide cover, and sometimes even higher for Worldwide cover which includes the USA and Canada (mainly because with the astronomical cost of medical care and repatriation).

It will come like a huge shock to experience a medical emergency while overseas and after that discover too far gone that your particular insurer will not likely cover your claims as you find the incorrect part of travel if you purchased the insurance plan.

Most travel cover companies do automatically include popular holidaymaker destinations like the Canary Islands, the Azores, Tunisia, Turkey, Madeira, and Egypt under Europe – but check.

Eligible travellers in Europe holding the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) should also do their research and turn into conscious of set up EHIC covers them for holiday destination. For example: although Turkey is within Europe, it’s not at all a part of the European Union (during the time of writing) and therefore the EHIC is not valid.

The EHIC should never be used like a substitute for travel insurance, but carried along with your insurance. The reason for this is because the EHIC has limited cover, and while it must cover most costs for just about any emergency medical treatment it could vary from state to state. However, the EHIC does not cover all kinds of other potentially expensive travel problems, like lost or stolen luggage, liability claims, legal costs, or need for air ambulance and medical repatriation (to fly you home, perhaps with a stretcher and with a medical escort – all very costly).

The standard rule of thumb for most insurers has traditionally been that Europe includes all countries in Europe ‘west of the Ural Mountains’. However, individual insurers may anytime decide to change their territorial limits or boundaries depending on the level of claims they receive for the people destinations with regards to the quantity of policies sold.

Don’t get caught out – never think that a country in Europe is automatically classified as Europe for insurance purposes!

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A Record £3.4 Billion in Travel Industry Deals at WTM London

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WTM London 2018, the event where ideas arrive, will generate a record £3.4 billion in travel and tourism industry deals, surpassing the figure of £3.1 billion from WTM London 2017.

The global travel and tourism industry continues to grow with more than £1.4 billion trips predicted to taking place globally in 2019, with the number predicted to rise to £1.8 billion by 2030. Inbound tourism to the UK is approaching 40 million trips annually, while Brits make almost 73 million outbound trips each year.

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WTM London 2018 reflected this growth with an increase in visitors of more than 4% to a record 32,462, with the event seeing a total of almost 89,000 (88,742) visits from 51,409 participants. In total 4,664 exhibitors from 182 countries and regions took part in the event.

Independent research of WTM London’s exhibitors reveals WTM London 2018 will generate a massive £3,353,042,708 in travel industry deals, either through contracts signed at the event or from negotiations with WTM Buyers’ Club members – the buyers with the greatest purchasing responsibility in the travel industry – which will lead to deals signed before WTM London 2019.

The record number of visitors and business conducted demonstrates the success of WTM London 2018’s new Ideas Arrive Here concept, which included the introduction of five regional Inspiration Zones – UK&I and International Hub, Europe, Asia, Americas and Middle East and Africa. These Inspiration Zones led to an increase in content, ideas and inspiration for participants to take back to their business and implement to help fuel the growth of the travel and tourism industry.

This strategy saw a greater number of senior CEOs and tourism ministers take part in the content programme – including easyJet’s CEO Johan Lundgren and UK tourism minister Michael Ellis. Meanwhile, more research was added to the programme – including dedicated regional research sessions – from respected research organisations including Euromonitor International, Mintel, ForwardKeys and Nielsen.

Furthermore, two new launches in Travel Forward and the International Travel & Tourism Awards (ITTAs) grew WTM London’s reach further. Travel Forward – the event to inspire the travel and hospitality industry with the next generation of technology – was a great success with more exhibitors and visitors than its predecessor The Travel Tech Show at WTM. The inaugural ITTAs saw almost 500 audience celebrate excellence within the travel and tourism industry.

WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “I am delighted with the record amount of business conducted at WTM London 2018. This success firmly positions WTM London as the event where ideas arrive and a must-attend for national and regional tourist boards, global brands, luxury and technology companies.

“The record visitor numbers at WTM London 2018 alongside the £3.4 billion in business generated shows that WTM London – as it approaches its 40th event in 2019 – and the travel and tourism industry are both in good health.”

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are: 

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 4-6 November 2019 – London.

Travel Forward is a new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place on 4–6 November 2019 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality. http://travelforward.wtm.com/.

WTM Latin America attracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 8,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 2-4 April 2019 – Sao Paulo.

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/.

Next event: 10-12 April 2019 – Cape Town.

Arabian Travel Market is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28th April to Wednesday, 1st May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa is a new route development forum co-located with Arabian Travel Market 2019. The inaugural event – taking place on 30th April and 1st May 2019 in Dubai – will include unlimited one-to-one pre-scheduled appointments, a conference programme, panel discussions and airline & industry briefings as well as an exhibition area dedicated to airport and suppliers. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com/2019-meia/

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

Building Resilience of Caribbean SMTEs: OAS launches $500,000 project

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The Organization of American States (OAS) has launched a US$500,000 project to assist the region’s small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) to build resilience to natural disasters.

The project was launched during the 2nd Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs), hosted at the Montego Bay Convention Centre by the government and the United Nations World Tourism Organization on January 29.

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Speaking ahead of the launch, Tourism Minister Hon. Edmund Bartlett said, “We are so happy to have the vast expertise of the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Nestor Mendez, at the launch who I am pleased to say comes bearing gifts. This very important resilience project for our SMTEs will help build the capacity of our sector to better help us become more resilient when disruptions occur.”

The project is funded by the United States Department of State and managed by the OAS Secretariat for Integral Development. It will assist small tourism enterprises in the Caribbean to overcome the various challenges that affect the ability of Governments and businesses alike to continue their business operations during and after catastrophic events in the Caribbean.

Participating countries set to benefit include: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

It will be carried out in a two-year period, with the primary aim being to reduce the severity, impact and duration of disruptions caused by a disaster on the operations of the small enterprises in the Caribbean.

“The Caribbean is among the most tourism-dependent regions in the world and there is no other region whose travel and tourism industry is as vulnerable to disasters as the Caribbean. It is undeniable that climate change presents an existential threat to small island developing states and low lying coastal areas, which include the countries of the Caribbean,” said Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Nestor Mendez.

He also noted that “The OAS identified, among the main long-term needs of the region, the need for tourism-related disaster preparedness and crisis management, communications plans as well as methodologies to follow before and after a disaster.”

This 2nd Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs), is a direct response to the global conference on jobs and inclusive growth hosted in Jamaica in 2017, which brought to the fore many of the perennial challenges faced by SMTEs, including issues of access to credit, marketing, technology and business development.

The conference organisers therefore saw it prudent to have another event focused solely on SMTEs and best practices that have direct relevance to their development.

OTDYKH International Russian Travel Market to celebrate 25th Anniversary in 2019

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September 10-12 2019 will see the return of the successful OTDYKH Leisure International Russian Travel market

September 10-12 2019 will see the return of the successful OTDYKH Leisure International Russian Travel market. Held in Moscow each year, OTDYKH leisure is a spectacle for the eyes with approx. 900 exhibitors from 80 countries and Russian regions, these figures are growing yearly and the 2019 event is set to be the best yet with a number of new countries and regions joining.

According to the official statistic of Border Service tourism between Europe and Russia increased during 2018 and figures are set to grow throughout the upcoming year based upon expert predictions. Figures were in excess of 1 million outbound and inbound tourists from both regions recorded in 2018. This is your opportunity to join one of the world’s largest tourism markets and reach a potential 20 million outbound Russian travelers each year.

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Spanning across 15,000 m2 OTDYKH Leisure 2019 is set to open opportunities to all within the tourism industry as to gain access to invaluable networking events, 180 speakers of 30 business events, unique seminars, hands on industry specific workshops, presentations from countries across the globe and many conferences. There is great opportunity for media coverage for exhibitors with almost 300 media professionals in attendance at the event and over 80 media partners working closely with the event this coming year.

Exhibitors are invited to submit their interest before 1st of March 2019 as to avail of early bird offers for the exhibit and related events.

Anna Huber, OTDYKH International project director has stated:

‘’I am delighted to say that we are expecting more exhibitors from the long haul and exotic destinations such as Cuba, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, Egypt, Tunisia, India etc. in 2019. This year we plan stronger cooperation with ATOR (Association of Tour Operators of Russia), with its cooperation we will organise a serious of roundtable meetings between Russian large tour operators and international authorities.’’

OTDYKH Business Program 2018 enabled major tourism development in Russia. The conferences ware a fantastic success and the outcome resulted in a draft resolution for the Russian tourism industry including the signing of 15 governmental agreements. OTDYKH Leisure is a forum for signing intergovernmental and partnership agreements annually as to promote and benefit the Russian tourism industry.

Exhibitors are welcomed to join us at OTDYKH Leisure 2019 to help us celebrate the 25th Anniversary of this prestigious event. Participants are advised to book at their earliest convenience as to avoid disappointment and avail of early bird booking offers.

OTDYKH Leisure will be held on the 10th-12th of September 2019
Location: Expocenter Fairgrounds in Moscow, Russia.