The 30th edition of OTDYKH Leisure exhibition, Russia’s premiere tourism fair, took place at the Expocentre from Sep. 17 to Sep. 19, 2024.
The 2024 exhibition included over 300 exhibitors, and participation from 30 regions of the Russian Federation and 18 foreign countries. There were 42 business program events, and 219 leading industry speakers, as well as more than professional 9,000 visitors and over 250 publications of the event in the media.
The success of the event shows Russia’s continued popularity as a tourist market for many countries. Today, direct flights connect Russia with almost 40 countries worldwide, leading many countries participating in the annual tourism fair to promote their tourism potential to a wide Russian audience. OTDYKH Leisure has proven year after year, how effective it is for achieving such goals.
At the OTDYKH Leisure 2024 exhibition, the list of international exhibitors covered almost all regions of the world including China, India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Cuba, Tunisia, Tanzania, Oman, Cyprus, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
The exhibition also attracted notable attendees including Leticia Gomez Hernandez, Minister of People's Power for Tourism of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, who gave a welcome address during the opening ceremony. Other notable guests included Minister of Tourism of the Samara Region, his excellency ambassadors of Sri-Lanka, Egypt, Oman, Venezuela among others.
OTDYKH Leisure 2024 included many special offers
During all three days of the event participants’ stands buzzed with activity as they held meetings, negotiated deals, and conducted business.
The main highlights of the fair included VIP Buyers Programme and the press tour with media from all over 10 Russian regions.
For the first time ever, OTDYKH Leisure presented an exclusive service called the Expert Lounge, where company owners and managers received professional advice on business development from leading experts and business analysts. Over the course of one day, more than 40 in-depth consultations were held with business representatives from various regions in Russia and foreign countries.
Participants highlighted popular national tourist destinations
This year 15 Russian regions gave presentations of the country’s best national tourist routes. Along with traditional tourism products, the participants introduced various types of tourism events including local festival programs, and sports and gastronomic events. Traditionally, winter routes, ethno-tours and cultural trips were in high demand.
The Samara Region, a partner region of OTDYKH Leisure 2024, gave a presentation on the tourist route "Zhigulevskie Vodyane" which, according to market experts, is the top tourist route of Russia.
Representatives from St. Petersburg, a partner city of OTDYKH Leisure 2024, gave visitors an opportunity to discover new developing routs in the city, and learn more about other areas of tourism in the northern capital: such as industrial, scientific and educational, medical and MICE.
OTKYKH Leisure welcomes new and frequent participating countries
Oman returned to the exhibit after a long hiatus as one of the most interesting and authentic destinations in the Middle East. Representatives of Oman Ministry of Heritage & Tourism, Visit Oman, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and leading DMC companies all participated at the fair this year. Starting October 29, Oman Air will have direct flights from Moscow to Muscat. Oman Air flights can also take tourists to the south of the south of Oman, where they can find beautiful beach resorts like the resort of Salalah, where there are many hotels and excursion tours. The Ministry announced the opening of representation in Moscow to promote tourism.
Sri-Lanka also participated this year with the large stand and more co-exhibitors than previous years, reflecting the increase in flights to Sri Lanka during the 2024-2025 winter season. Charters from Moscow and the Russians regions will be added to Aeroflot's regular direct flights. In addition, travellers can conveniently reach Sri Lanka through connections in many other countries. The island state is confident that a visa-free regime for Russian citizens will increase the tourist flow from Russia.
After China’s successful returned to OTDYKH Leisure last season, the exhibition’s Chinese partners tripled the size of their stand this year.
For the first time, the Malaysian Muslim Travel Agency Association, MYTRA, took part in the OTDYKH Leisure exhibition. Its members will help organize trips to Malaysia that meet halal standards. Eleven companies that are part of MYTRA presented their tourism product in Moscow.
Another newcomer to the exhibition was Turkmenistan. With its many attractions and unique culture, Turkmenistan is an interesting tourist destination. The country holds three UNESCO World Heritage List sites.
As usual, the Caribbean destinations were well represented at this year’s exhibition. Venezuela and Cuba participated at the exhibition with large stands and many co-exhibitors. Venezuela has flights for Russian tourists all year round. Direct flights are operated by Russian Nordwind Airlines and Venezuelan Conviasa. Venezuela highly values Russian tourists and is working with Russia to expand bilateral air travel. A large delegation headed by the Minister of Tourism of Venezuela held various negotiations with Russian partners.
At OTDYKH the African continent was represented by Egypt and Tunisia with traditionally with large expositions. Visitors were able to learn about affordable beach holidays, and rich culture, cuisine, and history, the countries can offer tourists.
Cyprus represented the Mediterranean showcasing opportunities for year-round holidays. Representatives of DMC Cyprus and leading hoteliers presented their country’s abundant tourism opportunities.
The Business Program remains a highlight of the exhibition year after year
This year’s business programme was a resounding success boasting 42 sessions attended by 219 leading industry speakers.
Highlights of the program included a well-attended session titled “Tourism Trends: Evolutionary Patterns in Tourism”, an annual project called “LEISURE Lab. Creative Tour Products”, as well as the competition of the "TOP best national tourist routes of Russia", organized by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). The top 11 winners were chosen based on the results of a closed survey and awarded at OTDYKH Leisure 2024.
Another highlight was the large number of international exhibitors in the business program, similar to the 2023 exhibition. Exciting presentations included “INDIA beyond the Taj Mahal and GOA” held by Imperial Travel and MICE INDIA; as well presentations delivered by representatives of GM Travel Solution (Egypt); Atmosphere Resorts & Spa (Philippines); Guide Oman and Turkmenistan among others.
The exhibition was held with the support of leading industry organizations: ATOR, RST, RGO. More than 120 media representatives were present and promoted the fair and its vendors. Media representatives included leading news agencies, key federal and regional TV channels, business, news and industry publications.
Information partners 2024 included Vesti.tourism, Sletat.ru, TourBusiness, Rustur, Russian Guide, Regionalnaya Rossiya, Travel and Tour World, Yacht Russia and other
