Madrid Beefs Up Position as Destination of Choice for the Russian Market

Madrid Municipality’s Tourism Area of Destination Madrid will be present at the MITT, Moscow International Travel & Tourism, to take place at the Russian capital on March 23 - 26. This is the most important travel show of the country, with an attendance forecast of 90,000 visitors and the participation of over 3,000 exhibitors from 198 destinations.

Madrid is going to be present at Turspain’s booth, where publications will be handed out to promote its tourism allures among the general public and professionals attending the show.

Some of the main requirements of Russian tourists refer to the variety of gastronomic offers, such as Michelin-starred restaurants, high-cuisine premises, centenarian inns and gourmet markets. The most prestigious companies offer shopping proposals as attractions, products with traditional taste and well-assorted cultural and leisure options of Madrid.

Since 2009, the capital has worked to position the city as a tourism destination in the Russian market. The presence of Madrid in MITT strengthens this work to attract professionals and travelers from the whole Russia and nearby countries like Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan and Moldavia.

Other actions will be developed throughout this year to back up this goal, such as the organization of two press trips for journalists from the Russian TV, with the support of the Community of Madrid.

Russia is a market with significant growth potential in the medium and long term. It’s the fifth world economy and, over the next five years, its traveling population is estimated to grow beyond 30 per cent.

In 2015 Madrid welcomed 77,389 travelers from Russia and recorded 188,244 overnight stays of tourists from that country. The average stay was 2.43 nights, 3.3 percent up if compared to 2014, so Russian visitors spent more time at the capital.

All in all, the estimated expense by Russian tourists in 2015 at the Community of Madrid was 69 million euros and the daily average expense was 189 €, a 2.4 percent growth. This figure positions Russia as the third country with the highest daily average expense, right after the United States and Japan.

Madrid features two airlifts with Moscow thanks to Aeroflot and Iberia.