Moscow’s Win, 1,000 Meetings, and Contracts for 2020: Results of IBTM World in Barcelona

“The award we won at the tourism exhibition in Spain was the sixth one in 2019. This once more proved that we had chosen a right format and concept for presentation of Moscow’s opportunities for tourism on the international stage. Another evidence of effectiveness of the exhibition in Barcelona was that this event helped Moscow tour operators to make profitable contracts and attracted attention to the city as to a leading business tourism destination. More than one thousand formal and business meetings and positive feedback from participants of the stand were the best indicators of the success,” noticed Tatyana Sharshavitskaya, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee.

IBTM World 2019 was running for free day at Fira Barcelona, one of Europe’s most significant exhibition venues. It was attended by about 3,000 exhibitors from 150 countries. 15 Moscow companies specializing in business tourism and event management were presented on the stand of the Russian capital.

“For our company this exhibition was very advantageous, we made several contracts for the next year and got acquainted with new partners. The concept of the stand attracted guests to familiarize themselves with the Russian capital and its MICE opportunities,” noted Aleksey Pavlov, CCO of Rosa Vetrov tour operator.

The key objective of Moscow’s participation in IBTM World was to establish professional communication between tourism communities of Moscow and Europe and to demonstrate its capability to host the larges international events.

“Once more, the stand of the Moscow City Tourism Committee became a point of attraction for participants and visitors of IBTM. Thanks to its open structure, exciting and creative design, and up-to-date content the stand became a platform for hundreds of effective meetings and new business contacts. Proper arrangement of working places, smart content, and well-chosen personnel created light and comfortable working atmosphere. For us it was a great pleasure, honor, and privilege to be a part of Moscow’s brand,” noted Evgeniy Shishigin, CEO of HugtheBear | Russian MICE.

The presentation of Moscow, its attractions, and event and cultural projects was running on the stand during all three days of the exhibition. Guests were welcome to take part in interactive VR activities – to take an air tour above Moscow or to visit into the world of famous artists Ivan Shishkin, Natalia Goncharova, and Kazimir Malevich.

“The exhibition was held at a very high level. Conveniently organized work and comfort in communication allowed for meaningful and effective meetings,” said Boris Molochnik, CEO of Russian Vacation travel agency.

“We would like to thank the Moscow City Tourism Committee for excellent work organization at IBTM 2019, for attractive design of the stand, for hospitability and complex support for customers who participated in meetings, as well as for materials and creative presentations of the city. We believe that this exhibition will promote development of tourism in Moscow. It is a great honor to be a part of such a professional team,” noted Vladimir Gabaraev, CEO of MICEVERSA.

In 2019, the exhibition stand of Moscow won 5 international awards thanks to its unique design and architecture. In June, Moscow’s stand gained several awards for its presentations at international events in East Asia. At Seoul International Tourism Industry Fair 2019 (SITIF), it was awarded for the best design. At Beijing International Tourism Expo 2019 (BITE), it gained the Best Creative Award. And at International Travel Expo (ITE) in Hong Kong, the exhibition stand of Moscow took the Audience Choice Award.