23 January 2023

The Russian Convention Bureau celebrated its 5th anniversary and held a General Meeting of the Association members

The jubilee general meeting of the Russian Convention Bureau (RCB) members, at which the results of the Association's work for a five-year period were summed up, traditionally took place at the site of the Eurasian Event Forum (EFEA) in St. Petersburg. Also, the main indicators on the results of the activities of the Association during 2022, a report on implemented projects and the main areas of work for the future were presented to the attention of the meeting participants.

Among the main results of the Association's activities during the first five years, the following indicators were noted:

  • 107 companies are members of the RCB;

  • 47 bids for holding international events in Russia were submitted with the support of the RCB and 11 of them were won;

  • RCB has 50 agreements on strategic cooperation with partners - regional offices and public organizations;

  • RCB took part in the business program of 84 Russian industry and general business events, which covered the problems and prospects of the industry;

  • RCB held 57 own events for industry representatives and members of the Association;

  • The Russian Convention Bureau took part in 23 events abroad, where the main issue on the agenda was the promotion of the event potential of the country and its regions;

  • in cooperation with 6 regional offices, Event Passports of the regions were developed;

  • as part of a new project launched in 2022 - the RCB Club - 6 meetings of members and partners were held at various venues and in the regions.

Chairman of the Board, Director of the Roscongress Foundation, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Convention Bureau Alexander Stuglev noted: “The Russian Convention Bureau, as an institution for the development of the industry and regions in the direction of event and business tourism, performs important functions for intra-industry cooperation between companies and inter-regional interaction of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In difficult times for the industry, the Russian Convention Bureau called for joining forces to attract authorities to support the event industry.”

In terms of the sectoral activities of the Association in the past 2022, it is necessary to note the work of the Russian Convention Bureau as part of sectoral committees on the formation of legislative initiatives and measures to support the industry - together with representatives of leading industry associations and unions, as well as with the participation of the Roscongress Foundation.

On March 14, 2022, the decision of the Expert Council of the Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure approved the initiative of the Russain Convention Bureau to create a specialized section for the development of business and event tourism, which was entrusted to be headed by the Director of the Association Sagid Zaremukov. The work of the Section has become a tool for lobbying the interests of the event industry, business and event tourism. The authoritative composition of the Section from representatives of key industry associations and leading companies makes it possible to give the work the most practical vector and most effectively fit into the business agenda of the Committee.

In his speech, the director of the Russain Convention Bureau, Sagid Zaremukov, noted: “The RCB has celebrated 5 years since its foundation. All the changes and challenges of our economy and society were directly reflected in the work of the Association, and the last couple of years has largely become a time of rethinking and reassembly. This applies to both our international activities and work on the domestic Russian market. But we are first and foremost an association that unites and represents the industry. And in the years when our industry faced new challenges, it became clear that the market needs organizations that can become a mouthpiece, act as an intermediary between the industry and the government, help shape new initiatives.”

In 2022, the RCB spoke and shared its expertise at key industry and general economic venues, focusing on current issues and prospects for the industry in the current period of restrictions and new opportunities, took an active part in the expert council of the Open Industry Industrial Tourism Accelerator, held by Agency for Strategic Initiatives, and worked on the expert council of national awards for event and business tourism.

During 2022, the Russain Convention Bureau entered into strategic partnership agreements with regional offices and industry organizations and associations: the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), ANO "Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects", the Union of Associations and Partners of the Entertainment Industry, the Business Community "Toratau" under the plenipotentiary representation of the Republic of Bashkortostan under the President of the Russian Federation and the company "Sportlive", which is the international organizer of the world series Challenge Family.

In 2022, the Russian Convention Bureau held the third season of the RCB Summer Academy educational project, which is being implemented jointly with the R&C Exhibition Research Center (VNIC) and supported by the Roscongress Foundation, a cycle of practical online seminars. During the course of the Summer Academy, it has gathered more than 850 listeners, and the last season has received more than 2,000 views of educational content. The course is free of charge and all lectures are subsequently available on the RCB YouTube channel and on the EFEA mobile app.

Speaking about plans for the next five-year period, the Association is preparing to continue its sectoral activities and the international agenda in the new conditions. Work is also underway on promising projects to create the Eurasian Convention Bureau Alliance, the base of scientific and industry associations in Russia and the CIS countries and the alliance of Russian congress hotels.

The agenda of the General Meeting included reporting speeches by the heads of the industry committees of the RCB "Marketing Territories" and "Service and Services", in which they shared the current results and plans for 2023 as part of the work of the committees.

The annual report on the activities of the Russain Convention Bureau for 2022 is available on the website of the Association.

The PetroCongress Congress Center acted as a partner in organizing and holding the General Meeting of the Russian Convention Bureau.

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