More than a hundred participants from 15 regions gathered at the site of the II Congress of Regional Convention Bureaux, which the Russian Convention Bureau held in Ekaterinburg in cooperation with the ANO “The Investment Promotion Agency of the Sverdlovsk region”, with the support of the Government of the Sverdlovsk region, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the ANO "Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects" (ASI), Roscongress Foundation, Business Center for Economic Development of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The participants of the congress were representatives of regional structures responsible for the development of the congress and exhibition industry and business tourism, and leading industry associations, the largest companies in the event industry in all areas of activity and public organizations, educational institutions and industry media.

Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov noted: “The congress and exhibition industry, as a driver for the development of economic sectors, plays an important role in shaping its sustainable growth, and events are a kind of diplomatic tool that allows to maintain the openness of regions and countries. In this paradigm, the activities of specialized institutions come to the fore to implement the tasks of developing territories through congress and exhibition activities, which include regional convention bureaux and structures that perform similar functions. The initiative of the Russian Convention Bureau to integrate and promote this activity is an important contribution to the strategic development of the industry.”

The plenary session of the congress was devoted to events as part of state diplomacy in the framework of establishing international and interregional dialogue. Among the main trends in the industry, leading representatives of the convention and exhibition industry noted an increase in the quantitative and qualitative composition of events, a shift in the vector of events to the regions, an increase in the number of regular and rotating events, as well as international events. The plenary session of the congress was attended by: Elena Khlybova, Deputy Minister of Investment and Development of the Sverdlovsk Region, Ilya Zubkov, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Alexey Valkov, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation, Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Maya Anurova, Head of Department for the development of business tourism ANO "Project Office for the Development of Tourism and Hospitality in Moscow", Sagid Zaremukov, Director of the Russian Convention Bureau, Sergei Voronkov, President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF), General Director of ExpoForum-International.

Director of the Russian Convention Bureau Sagid Zaremukov, speaking at the plenary session of the congress, noted that for successful collaboration of events and regions, it is necessary to include the convention and exhibition industry in the regional development strategy, attract or create their own events in key sectors of the region’s economy, as well as the availability of support measures industries from the region. Commenting on the order to create a convention bureaux system in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation within the framework of the Action Plan (“road map”) for the implementation of measures to support and strategic development of exhibition, fair and congress activities until 2030, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 869-r dated April 10 2024, Sagid Zaremukov emphasized: “The creation of a convention bureaux system in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is a project that the RCB has long been promoting at various levels, and it is gratifying that now this initiative is enshrined at the government level. I am confident that the emergence of local flagships in the regions to implement the tasks of developing territories through congress and exhibition activities will be a catalyst for accelerating the development of the industry.”

As part of the key theme of the congress, “Soft power” of events. Strategy for the openness of regions in the modern world”, leading experts shared their experience on important aspects of the successful development of the event industry in the region - from territory marketing to the synergy of business and industrial tourism, from issues of creating favorable conditions for attracting new projects and events to the development of both specialized infrastructure and alternative platforms, from attracting corporate customers and working with buyers to education in the event industry. Often, the congress sessions became a discussion platform when listeners joined experts in discussing the topic and shared their opinions and practical cases.

As part of the grand opening of the congress, the results of a pilot project to evaluate best practices in the event industry among companies - members of the Russian Convention Bureau, which RCB implemented jointly with the R&C Market Research Company, were presented. Best practices were scored based on information collected from public sources and from a company survey. Based on the assessment results, certificates of excellence were awarded to companies that scored the most points. The leaders in these areas were:

1. Territory marketing:

   • Convention Bureau of Bashkortostan “Office Group”;

   • The Investment Promotion Agency of the Sverdlovsk region;

   • Kamchatka Exhibition and Tourist Center.

2. Event management:

   • Bashkir Exhibition Company, Ufa;

   • Group of companies "BE BRAND PEOPLE", Ekaterinburg;

   • Business Dialogue Company, Moscow.

3. Venues:

   • Congress Center of the World Trade Center, Moscow;

   • International Exhibition Center "Kazan Expo";

   • Red Arena, Sochi.

4. Service and facilities:

   • EXPODAT company, Moscow;

   • Eventicious company, Samara;

   • Rent Republic company, Ufa.

The evaluation procedure will be carried out on an annual basis among members of the Russian Convention Bureau Association.

As part of the business program of the congress, the next General Assambly of companies - members of the Russian Convention Bureau Association was held, at which internal issues of the Association’s activities were discussed, including key areas of activity for the period until 2030, and new companies were accepted into membership of the Association - LLC "RK Avangard", ANO "Kazan Expo", LLC "KST GROUP", LLC "Bit-In Group", LLC "PND" (Rent Republic), LLC "TIECHAR MARKETING" (Mountains of Russia), LLC "Art Media Bureau", MZKRS Suture Materials LLC. Currently, the members of the Association are about one hundred companies from among the leading representatives of the event industry from 17 regions of Russia.

Putting into practice the thesis about the synergy of business and industrial tourism, an off-site event was organized for the participants of the congress - a visit to the industrial route of the Seversky Pipe Plant “Metallurgy through the centuries: from a flashy hammer to a digital plant.”

Since the congress is a rotating event and is held in one of the regions that takes an active position in promoting its event potential, at the invitation of the Ministry of Tourism of the Samara Region, the III Congress of Regional Convention Bureaux will be held in 2025 in Samara.

Venue of the II Congress of Regional Convention Bureaux: Ekaterinburg, EXPO Boulevard, 2a, Ekaterinburg-EXPO IEC.

Organizer of the Congress: The Russian Convention Bureau Association.

With the support of: The Government of the Sverdlovsk region, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects (ASI), the Roscongress Foundation, the Business Center for Economic Development of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Co-organizer: ANO “The Investment Promotion Agency of the Sverdlovsk region”.

"Golden" sponsor: BESTLY.

Business program partner: the R&C Market Research Company.

Official venue: IEC "Ekaterinburg-EXPO".

Registration partner: Expodat.

General online information partner: Business portal for event industry professionals EVENT-LIVE.RU.

General information partner, print publication: analytical magazine CongressTime.

Telegram partner: MeetInUral.