adminKester Kenn Klomegah
WITH the exception of a few African countries, Russian tourists flow has generally hit stumbling blocks over the past two decades which experts and operators said was due to lack of adequate information, low marketing strategies of existing tourism destinations and ineffective institutional organisation in Russia and the former Soviet republics.
“Russian tourism market is viewed as a sea of opportunity for expanding tourism business to many external countries or regions including Africa, unfortunately Africa is a quite challenging destination to sell.
“Africa is still unknown, although the continent has promising destinations for a large number of Russian tourists,” Natalya Privalenko, Rwanda Tourism Board representative in Russia, explained recently to Buziness Africa.
The crisis in Europe could spur potential Russian tourists to Africa, much depends on the destination and tourism infrastructure in Africa.
The European crisis, of course, has affected the travel business as a whole and Africa as well, Privalenko said, and pointed out that “during the first half of 2015, fewer clients went visiting Africa but it didn’t mean people weren’t interested in Africa. When the economic situation was good, we saw a growing number of clients willing to visit Africa each year. We hope soon it’ll get better.”
Some diplomatic missions in conjunction with Russian travel agencies have made efforts at prioritising tourism. The Ethiopian Travel Club (ETC), established under the auspices of the embassy, has more than 50 Russian tourism agencies and tour operators. The ETC plans to create a website dedicated to Ethiopian holiday attractions, publish Ethiopian guidebooks in Russian language and organise promotional tours more frequently and participate in future tourism exhibitions.
In May 2009, the club was purposefully created to boost tourism and encourage Russian operators to popularise Ethiopia’s historical and cultural destinations among Russian vacationers, to discuss problems mitigating against the tourism industry, to share useful data and vital information necessary for the promotion of the industry, and in the process to identify other investment opportunities, but the laudable initiative died after the changeover of the diplomatic staff three years later.
Ethiopia is an east African country rich in history and natural extremes. It is a place where travellers can explore the natural landscape, learn about east African culture and visit archaeological sites, according to Veronica Bierman, General Manager of Exotic Time, a Russian Tourism Agency.
The most interesting thing about Ethiopia is that the country is completely exotic in each tiny way.
The combination of food, culture, religion, places (from religious and historical meccas in the North to tribes of the South), the hospitality of the people, music, landscapes, smells, authenticity and so forth — every little thing amazes or surprises visitors. All that makes it viable for tourism.
Bierman told Buziness Africa in an interview: “Russians will definitely need higher level of accommodation (some luxurious hotels and lodges to be developed), to attract more and more of the wealthy customers, better hotels should be built, and improve tourism infrastructure to make tourism one of the leading economic sectors in Ethiopia.”
Some diplomatic missions have been successful in pushing through their tourism plans. For example, the former Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to the Russian Federation, Indira Savitree Thacoor-Sidaya, told Buziness Africa in a pre-departure interview that “Russian tourists have increased over the last three years with high occupancy rates in high-end luxury hotel such as St Regis and Four Seasons.”
She added with high optimism, “But, I believe we still have to increase our efforts with a more aggressive marketing strategy to succeed in our goals because it’s sad to say that many Russians don’t know much about this beautiful little island called Mavrici, in Russian language. More importantly, Russian visitors to Mauritius don’t require visa prior to entering Mauritius.”
To further promote Mauritius as a tourism destination in Russia, Ambassador Thacoor-Sidaya led a delegation of 16 well known Russian tour operators, including the Vice President of the Russian Union Of Travel Industry, Yuriy Aleksandrovich Barzykin, to her country in April 2014. This tour was sponsored by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) and the Emirates Russia.
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 km) off the southeast coast of the African continent.
It possesses a wide range of natural and man-made attractions, enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, attractive beaches, tropical fauna and flora complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population that is friendly.
Mauritius received the World Leading Island Destination award for the third time and World’s Best Beach at the World Travel Awards in January 2012.
Fulufhelo Themeli, the First Secretary at the South African Embassy in Moscow, describes Russian tourism trends to South Africa to Buziness Africa: “South Africa is both a relatively new and unknown destination for the Russians but the attributes sought by the Russian market, should in every respect make South Africa the most appealing destination. The number of Russian tourists visiting South Africa is still very small.”
However, South Africa began to see a steady growth in tourist flows from Russia. In 2013, for instance, South Africa was visited by 13,000 Russians, which was 9 percent higher than in 2012. But South Africa is also becoming more popular among Russian tourists and they have now entered the top ten of the South African tourist flow for the first time in history.
Buziness Africa research shows that the key factors driving this increasing interest by Russians to South Africa included the following:
• Luxury hotels and resorts with perfect service
• A well trained and dedicated workforce with passion for service excellence
• Excellent cuisine and wines
• The best African safari or unique wild nature
• Charming and fascinating mixture of African culture and modern life
• Good infrastructure with wonderful road networks and airports
• Lack of problems in communication with local people since everybody speaks English
As part of our promotional endeavours, South Africa mission promotes tourism in the Russian Federation by participating regularly in major tourism exhibitions in the Russian Federation, such as the Moscow International Tourism and Trade Exhibition (MITT), holds tourism seminars with tour operators and airlines in Moscow and in other regions and provinces, conducts tourism media breakfast and lunch in collaboration with leading media agencies such as RIA Novosti, now Sputnik News Agency, facilitating familiarisation trips and online media advertisements, among many other strategies.
But, a few challenges still remain in this tourism business. “The general lack of knowledge and information about South Africa and its offerings in the Russian market makes Russians unaware of the South African market and its opportunities. The absence of direct flights and the perception about the long distance between South Africa and Russia continue to be a challenge,” Fulufhelo Themeli told Buziness Africa interview survey in June.
South Africa changed their visa regulations in 2014 meaning that all applicants need to appear in person at the embassy.
Considering the size of Russia, this was an ill-advised move in terms of attracting Russian tourists. Furthermore, children now cannot travel to South without an officially translated birth certificate and the written and notarized permission of both parents if they are not travelling with the children.
Unfortunately, neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, all of which have favourable visa policies to Russia (either no visa necessary or visa upon arrival) have suffered considerably due to their neighbour’s new visa requirements. South Africa even requires transit passengers to hold a valid visa.
Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia is well known to the Russian market due to the considerable marketing efforts of Sun International (2006-2013). There is hope that the new terminal at Victoria Falls airport, due to open later in 2015 will attract direct long-haul flights, which will make it easier to reach the region without transiting via South Africa.
This opinion originally appeared on africanexecutive.com. Kester Kenn Klomegah, a former editorial staff of The Moscow Times, is a keen foreign policy observer and an independent researcher on China’s and Russia’s policy in Africa.
Online Reporter