11/08/2019 16:11

VIPs or Visas, Sir?

[IMG=21239-7093]On October 17th representatives of Radisson Edwardian Hotels presented the newest hotel in their chain, The May Fair 5 star hotel - which opened in London in October 2006 - to Moscow journalists and tour operators. The new hotel hopes to welcome a considerable share of Russian tourists - 5,000 clients during the first year alone; the aim is to attract also clients of other prestigious central London hotels such as The Ritz, Claridges, and The Four Seasons. Accordingly - and although this was their first visit to Russia - Radisson Edwardian are already planning to open a representative office in Moscow. They believe that the potential rewards justify the investment; yesterday’s presentation was therefore merely represented their first steps into Russia. Harry Bhalla, Executive Director of Radisson Edwardian, explained that ‘we have analyzed the nationality breakdown of clients visiting the other leading London hotels. Russian clients are the second largest nationality group for The Ritz hotel, for example; that shows we are banking on the right market’. Meanwhile, the British hoteliers have not yet made a decision regarding business partners in Russia. Tatiana Khoreshok, Head of VisitBritain, explained: ‘Most probably Radisson Edwardian will co-operate with those tour operators that specialize in business trips and VIP clients’. The hotel accommodation rates are high - 300 British Pounds (around 450 Euros) per night in a standard room. Meanwhile, there are divided opinions among Russian travel market players themselves. Elena Blokhina, Head of The British Department of the BSI Group, observed that ‘there are many rich tourists; therefore the interest of the British hoteliers is justified'. But Oleg Gozkalo, Executive Director of Great Rivers, cautioned that ‘it is difficult to compete with such well-established hotels as The Ritz, for example. They have their target group. Moreover, we cannot say that only VIP clients go to Britain. There are many others who buy economy class excursion tours’. And the majority of travel market professionals are concerned not about new hotels - but about the current situation at The British Consulate. They say that the number of interviews being carried out at the Consulate has been reduced - and that the number of interview cancellations has increased. And at the moment experts have no idea why.