A reverse business mission with the participation of four tour operator companies from the People's Republic of China was organized by the Export Support Center of the Murmansk Region with the assistance of the Regional Ministry of Arctic Development and Economy. From the region, 15 companies representing the Arctic tourism industry participated in it.
In the first part of the visit, tour operators from China got acquainted with the tourist infrastructure and accommodation facilities. The foreigners were met by local certified guides. The acquaintance and first impressions left the guests with extremely positive emotions.
In the second part of the reverse business mission, meetings were held in the B2B format, during which the participants discussed in more detail the details of possible international cooperation.
Among the delegates was Li Rukan, the head of a tour operator company from China. He also represents the tourism Union, which includes more than 3,000 agencies from 197 countries. The members of the union are engaged in marketing and advertising of tourist destinations.
"Our concept is to discover the wonders of the world, including Murmansk. We are very happy to come here. Once we hosted 10 Russian tour operators. Then we were recommended to go to Murmansk. I had a dream to come here. This is a legend for us. Round the clock – night, round the clock – day. I couldn't believe that such a thing was possible," Lee Rukan said.
Thanks to this visit and negotiations, more Chinese tourists will be able to see the beauty of the Murmansk region and its attractions.
"Now it is important to build professional work, because only organized tourism provides quality, service, safety and income. It is important that the professional community of China get acquainted with the professional community of our region," said Alexander Eliseev, Chairman of the Murmansk Region Tourism Committee.
During the visit of the foreign delegation, he noted that statistics show an increase in the number of tourists in the region, including Chinese. In his opinion, the agreement on visa-free visits to Russia also contributed to this.
Each participant of the reverse business mission from the Arctic managed to negotiate with guests from China.
"The plans are big, because I am confident in myself and my company. I am counting on at least a framework agreement, there are plans for long–term cooperation," said Pavel Ershov, General Director of Kola Krai LLC.
According to him, Chinese tourists have their own characteristics, just like representatives of any other country. Chinese representative Li Houzhong appreciated the people of the North in addition to nature and attractions. He noted that the reality exceeded all his expectations.
"Northerners are simple, sociable, responsive, real people. One day we were driving, and suddenly there was a problem, another car stopped, and they helped us very quickly. The Murmansk region is very attractive from the point of view of inbound tourism. I hope that everything will work out," Li Houjun said.
The Murmansk Region Export Support Center is confident that the reverse business mission will turn our region from a legend to a reality for a Chinese tourist. Moreover, all conditions are being created for this, and local exporting tour operators can count on state support.
"It is worth saying that this year the reverse business mission involved not only experienced tour operators who have been receiving foreign tourists for a long time, but also new companies with experience in the domestic market and interested in exporting. The participants from the Russian side willingly shared their impressions of the negotiations, emphasizing their willingness to work with colleagues from China. Chinese tour operators, in turn, were happy to communicate with companies in the Arctic and showed a clear desire to start cooperation in the field of tourism services," the regional Export Support Center noted.
The participation of small and medium-sized enterprises of the Murmansk region in the reverse business mission is being implemented within the framework of the national project "Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship and support for individual entrepreneurial initiative" with the assistance of the regional Ministry of Arctic Development and Economy.
/ Ministry of Arctic Development and Economy of the Murmansk Region /