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Optimization of technology for holding congress and exhibition events. Congress and exhibition activities

Systematic activity in organizing various kinds of exhibitions and fairs in most countries of the world is an important sector of the economy. Russia is also characterized by such fast developing business, as an exhibition and fair activity. This is facilitated not only by the dynamic development of local markets and investments in the economy, but also by the rapid development of the regions themselves, as it is one of the driving forces of economic development.

The concept of exhibition activities and why they are needed

This activity is aimed at finding the most rational forms of communication between trade and industry, searching for new markets for goods produced in the country. At this time, the organization of exhibitions in Russia has a sufficient number of necessary professional resources:

General issues of development and technology of exhibition activities in Russia have already been sufficiently studied. Currently, the topic of its effectiveness is becoming more relevant.

The reason for this was certain changes in the country's economy: the period when capital was rapidly accumulating gave way to a period of competition.

Position of the industry in the economic segment of the country today

Now many representatives domestic business They understand that it is more profitable not to take profits abroad, but to invest them in their native economy. Even the essence of competition is changing: manufacturers and distributors are now concerned not so much with advertising the product itself, but with presenting the benefits that the buyer will receive by choosing a certain brand. That is why exhibition and fair activities of organizations and enterprises producing and selling goods are aimed at creating demand for the object being sold. In this regard, the importance of organizing all kinds of fairs and exhibitions is noted.

These events are designed to acquaint interested audiences with the development of a particular industry and the goods and services it produces and to identify demand for them. Their value lies in creating a situation of partnership between the exhibitor and a potential buyer. The more professionally the exhibition is organized, the more benefits can be expected from it. It is sad that at present Russian exhibition organizers are solving this problem unprofessionally: without taking a progressive approach to their organization and inadequately assessing the results of this event. Many exhibitors are unaware of the ineffectiveness of their participation in the fair, since they do not have a mechanism for adequately assessing the organization of the event.

And yet, many steps have already been taken in this direction: a classification has been made of organizational methods on the basis of which the planning and organization of the described events is carried out:

theoretical models, which contain analysis and recommendations within the framework of which the enterprise participates in the exhibition;
collection of analytical data during insertion;
exhibition activities in general information and the rules of its organization.

Forms of holding exhibition events

The forms of organizing activities are very extensive and can satisfy any requests of participants market relations. Currently, these services are implemented through the following events: auctions, theme weeks, exhibitions, symposiums, salons, fairs, conferences, festivals, exchanges, tastings, etc.

Despite the apparent similarity, such events differ from each other in a number of features:

target;
order of organization;
method of participation;
composition of attracted participants and interested visitors, etc.

Currently, the activities that are the subject of this article are represented mainly by fairs and exhibitions held in the form of:

trade and industrial fairs;
exhibitions of various levels (international, regional, city, etc.);
specialized salons and exhibitions, etc.

Features of congress activities

Congress and exhibition activities are no less powerful advertising tools that promote various products and services. In addition, the ability to quickly exchange information is considered an advantage of this direction. The scope includes organizing events various forms ats and scales. Typically this is:

This vector of exhibition and fair business is often called “event”, which is explained by the tourism component. Congress and exhibition activities have a significant impact on the formation and development of professional and business tourism in the regional, national and international framework. It is important to note that such exhibitions help stimulate visits by two categories of people. The first includes direct participants of exhibitions who are looking for ways to promote advertising and clients to sell their goods. The second group is people attending exhibition events with the aim of familiarizing themselves with and further purchasing products, concluding long-term contracts for cooperation or supplies.

The fundamentals of exhibition activities in the field of congress tourism represent the basis of state economic development. The task of the industry is to create new and optimize existing enterprises in all economic sectors, as well as attract funds foreign investors, the arrival of which will become a determining factor in readiness for the further growth of professional and business tourism.

The place of museums in the country's exhibition activities

Modern exhibition activities include in their system another important element of the cultural and educational vector. Changes in public life the states of the late twentieth century also had a negative impact on museum exhibitions, the main task of which was to educate the people, familiarize them with the stylistics of fine art and orient themselves in certain genres. Exhibition activities of that period practically came to a standstill. Operating for more than 20 years in the mode of “one-day” exhibitions, museums today continue to work according to the same scheme.

Active museum and exhibition activities are maintained only in institutions that are ready to boast of the mobility of events. This is what allows commercial and non-commercial participants in the exhibition environment to quickly respond to public requests, introduce scientific research materials into the work of exhibitions and provide them to visitors.

Despite the fact that museum and exhibition activities are almost identical concepts, the economic component of the latter is a higher priority at the state level.

The importance of exhibition and fair activities

The Russian economy, which has advanced far in its development, at the present stage considers exhibition and fair activities not only as a tool for pricing, searching potential partners, attracting capital, but also as a stimulator of production based on large scientific potential, an instrument of interaction between regional and international markets.

The organization of exhibition activities implies an economic space where technologies, services and goods could freely move and appear. innovative methods business. Not only the organization of export-import exchange for this moment becomes dependent on exhibition and fair activities; without it, the economic development of territories within the country becomes difficult. This happens due to the presence of this significant integration potential, advantages over other types of communications and the ability to compare the country’s economy with the world one.

Types and differences of exhibition and fair events

The international classification system allows you to divide exhibitions (fairs) according to the following criteria:

geographical composition of participants;
industry (thematic) feature;
economic significance;
territorial sign;
time frame (duration).

This is far from the only way in which exhibition activities are classified, although it is recognized by the international community. In connection with changes in the European economy, it became necessary to streamline the activities of organizing exhibitions, based on territorial characteristics in terms of participation in the event of interested parties from a certain number of countries. The classification below is intended to assess the economic significance of a particular event in this area.

Global exhibition (an event of a specific industry on a global scale; attracts participants from all over the world).
European Exhibition (an event on a European scale; attracts participants from all its countries).

The following structures can carry out this type of activity:

executive authorities at the federal level and constituent entities of the federation;
structures specializing in organizing such events;
CCI (chambers of commerce and industry);
both industry and interregional associations;
organizations of various forms of ownership, even if this activity is not the main one for them.

Self-government characterized by sufficient efficiency, financial stability, and the organization of high-quality work of municipalities are impossible without development

The organization of exhibition activities is focused on creating an environment that will promote goods and services not only domestically, but also foreign markets, will force local entrepreneurs to establish business and economic ties with foreign partners.

How is the field of exhibition activities developing in the world?

The development of activities in organizing fairs (exhibitions) in the world does not stand still; it brings multi-billion-dollar revenues to the organizing countries, which forces them to constantly compete in this area. A quarter of contracts are concluded during international events. Exhibition activities, as a business in Asian countries, have made a qualitative leap forward, overtaking the countries of Europe and America, and gaining leadership in this direction. In our country, everything is happening differently.

In Russia, the development of exhibition activities is undergoing qualitative changes. Gradually the sphere is becoming an independent industry. The number of these events is increasing, the requirements for them are increasing, which allows them to take their place in the global niche. This is evidenced by open data from the International Union of Exhibitions and Fairs: in Russia there are about 250 exhibition organizers, 55 of which are members of the International Union; They held more than 1,200 exhibitions at various levels. The annual turnover in the country is more than 193 million US dollars and increases by more than 30% every year.

Since 1991, the number of events in this direction has increased by 17% per year. Everything suggests that this part of the country’s economy is developing well.

Specifics of holding exhibition events in Russian regions

Exhibition events in our country are held in many cities, in addition to St. Petersburg and Moscow, although these cities continue to be recognized as international centers for organizing exhibitions.

We can highlight some trends in the development of exhibition activities in Russia. Following the example of the international community, the country is moving towards reducing the number of universal exhibitions representing a large number of industries. Each subsequent event becomes more specialized, aimed at comprehensive coverage of a certain area of exhibition activity, manufacturer of goods or services. Increased industrial growth entails an increase in the number of exhibitions (fairs) on this topic.

Russia's capital, Moscow, is still the city where the vast majority (more than a quarter) of the country's such events take place, and remains the center of representation for a large number of industries. But there is an increasingly clear trend towards an increase in the number of exhibitions (including international ones) held in regions and cities where a large number of representatives interested in consuming the products and services presented are concentrated.

The fact that exhibition activities are developing rapidly at the present stage is evidenced by the constantly increasing number of exhibitors who present their products at these events. Now their number is approaching half of the total number of participants.

Currently, large-scale construction of exhibition venues is underway in Moscow (primarily this concerns the All-Russian Exhibition Center). The exhibition areas of St. Petersburg are constantly expanding. New centers are being updated and built to organize exhibitions of various levels in Irkutsk, Samara, Volgograd, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansiysk, Khabarovsk, Sochi and other cities.

Unsolved problems at this stage of exhibition activity

Unfortunately, tremendous positive changes in exhibition activities are occurring against the backdrop of a number of problems that are being resolved slowly and with great difficulty.

First of all, it should be noted the imperfection of the regulatory framework, which insufficiently regulates this type of activity. It is necessary to develop additional standards and relevant documents.
Lack of coordination in the planning of these events: there is no agreement on timing, topics, priority areas, which complicates international cooperation; the national component is weakly expressed.
There are no statistics of organizations carrying out exhibition activities, which hinders the analysis of their activities and complicates the forecast of development.
No conceptual approach of the authorities state power different levels to this species activities, despite its significant importance for the development of the country’s economy as a whole.
Low level of support for certain departments called upon to provide state support for exhibition activities in Russia through their coordinated actions.
The level of material and technical base of this type of activity does not correspond international standards, and one of the main shortcomings in this regard is the insufficient number of exhibition spaces throughout the country.
Currently, foreign exhibitors are more often able to promote their goods, services and technologies to the Russian market. Russian goods on international fairs does not seem adequate enough, so it is necessary to work towards the symmetry of import-export flows.
Organizers of a huge number of fair projects on similar topics do not always compete fairly with each other, which reduces the popularization of such activities and negatively affects the development of the industry as a whole.
The use of unsuitable areas for holding exhibitions (fairs), lack of transport accessibility, inability to attract a sufficient number of visitors, that is, undeveloped infrastructure.

Despite the long list of shortcomings, exhibition activities in Russia are undergoing extensive work to organize and improve domestic market, truly on a national scale. This happens in connection with the recognition of its political and strategic importance in the development of the country’s economy.

Each enterprise in the B2B market promotes its products through all possible channels of communication with the consumer audience. Because the industrial market has its own specifics and mostly involves targeted contacts with the management of the customer company; the most effective marketing promotion tool is.

The concept of congress and exhibition activities includes such events as:

forums, symposiums, conferences, round tables and other events of a scientific and nature;

events for young people (rallies, tournaments, conferences, festivals);

exhibitions and presentations;

sports tournaments and championships;

ceremonial events (presentation of awards, prizes, patents, etc.)

The B2B market is saturated; moreover, given the consequences of the crisis, the number of consumers in industry markets is decreasing. All this leads to increasing competition between enterprises for sales markets. Under such conditions, active congress and exhibition activities allows you to draw attention to the brand, declare your innovations, advantages, and production capabilities. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing not just on the wide selection of available equipment, but on the wide potential of research and design activities, a unique approach to the task set by the customer and customer focus. Having gained such a reputation, the brand, and with it the enterprise, can count on invitations to participate in new major projects.

The globalization of markets determines the tendency to deploy large projects - this could be the construction of a plant, a new line or production at an existing enterprise. In any case, such a project cannot be completed by one enterprise. That is why it is worth initially fighting for the place of a subcontractor in such a project.

Considering this situation in the B2B market using the example of mechanical engineering, chemical or any other complex, it is worth noting the presence of several large leading holdings or associations, which consist of a whole chain of factories and enterprises throughout the world.

Having their own leadership centers, such enterprises work together on large projects. For example, to launch a new chemical plant the services of metallurgical and machine tool factories will be needed to create production workshops, machine-building enterprise for equipping production lines, enterprises chemical industry to equip production with raw materials and reagents, etc. This approach to project implementation allows such enterprises to provide themselves with orders by completing large turnkey projects.

Advantages of congress and exhibition activities

Congress and exhibition activities The company will not only receive information about the upcoming project, but also offer its services. Participation in presentations and conferences is not only a demonstration of the brand and its advantages, but also communication in a narrow circle of professionals. It is at such events that the search for business partners takes place, connections with whom are constantly maintained from project to project.

The so-called insider information, which can only be obtained in a private conversation, will allow you not only to offer your services on time, but also to do it before others. As practice shows, in the industry media information about new large projects appears after most of them have been completed. design work and approval of the schedule of stages of construction and equipment of the facility. In fact, such information does not allow a third party to get into the project even as a subcontractor.

A company that does not conduct congress and exhibition activities finds itself in information isolation, which does not allow it to communicate directly with large customers, who, as often happens in the B2B market, share the vast majority of the market among themselves.

Orders that can be obtained with the help of others marketing techniques, cannot be compared with the effectiveness of participating in a symposium or conference. Friendly communication with regular customers is a source of the most relevant and new information about major projects on the market. Of course, you can focus your efforts on developing Internet communications, but this channel of communication with the consumer audience is most effective in B2C markets.

In addition to increasing brand awareness, participation in large projects can significantly increase trust in the brand and strengthen your reputation in the market. Active congress and exhibition activities allow us to constantly provide ourselves with not just orders, but to guarantee our participation in long-term projects.

In the vast majority of cases, the construction and launch of new projects is planned for several years, which makes it possible to provide their production facilities with work. Stability production program, procurement planning and other activities that, taking into account the long-term nature of the project, can be optimized, which invariably has a positive effect on the cost of production and the growth of profit of the enterprise.

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Business on display

One of the most important indicators the state of the economy in the country is the level of activity of the market for convention and exhibition services. Both domestic and international commerce cannot do without high-quality platforms for ensuring communication between representatives of various circles of the business community, authorities and the end consumer. In turn, the convention and exhibition industry itself is a large and diversified business.

Product face

Organization of professional congress exhibition business It is not often covered, but the global turnover of this industry today amounts to many billions of dollars and continues to grow rapidly. This market is a highly competitive field of struggle between various operating companies and developers of such projects. The quality of doing business, both in a particular city and in the state, largely depends on the qualitative and quantitative level of development of the C&E market.

Today, on a global scale, our country’s share in the international congress and exhibition market is limited to 2-3%. At the same time, the technological and organizational level of the Russian market is quite high, although this applies to a greater extent to events in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

About 400 thousand sq. m. are available in Moscow. m of exhibition space, and the mayor’s office plans to increase this figure to 1.1 million square meters. m by 2025. In the city with the second largest market for HF services - St. Petersburg - the total area of conference rooms is more than 100 thousand square meters. m with a capacity of at least 88 thousand people. Most conference rooms are located in hotels, and the supply fully satisfies the existing demand. Just under half (48%) of conference rooms in St. Petersburg are designed for up to 70 participants. Another about 16% are occupied by conference rooms with a capacity of 70 to 150 people, 36% of the halls in the city can accommodate 150 guests or more, mostly palaces.

Based on the data Russian Union exhibitions and fairs (RUEF), the annual turnover from exhibition, fair and congress activities of RUEF member organizers in 2015 amounted to 29 billion rubles (in 2014 - 27.16 billion rubles). This indicates, albeit a slow but constant increase in the profitability of this industry.

An important driver for the development of the convention and exhibition industry is modern infrastructure. Moscow and St. Petersburg, which with their economic potential provide about two-thirds of the exhibition business in Russia, are very rich in terms of the availability of various venues for events of various sizes. Among the largest exhibition centers in Moscow we can note the All-Russian Exhibition Center, Moscow Exhibition Center "Manezh", "Expocentre" and "Crocus Expo".

However, on the other hand, due to the fact that most major exhibitions of international and federal scale are held in two capitals, regional cities are provided to a lesser extent, but, for the most part, this is enough to satisfy existing demand. At the same time, a number of regions still note a lack of quality space for exhibition activities.

Capital confrontation

Returning to capital cities, it is worth noting that St. Petersburg also has another important advantage in the form of a very strong tourism brand, which is becoming more and more famous every year. The city is now more attractive in terms of culture and image. This statement also correlates with data from various international ratings. Thus, St. Petersburg is among the 25 most attractive tourist locations, according to Trip Adviser, and the famous British newspaper Daily Expres previously named the city the most beautiful and elegant in all of Russia.

Another more pragmatic, but no less important advantage is the profile of business in the region. Today St. Petersburg occupies a leading position in power engineering and shipbuilding. In addition, the city is home to the country's largest transport and logistics hubs. In the ranking of the International Congress and Conference Association (ICCA), St. Petersburg ranks 41st in the list of congress cities in Europe, Moscow is only one line higher.

According to Vladislav Fadeev, head of the research department at JLL in St. Petersburg, there are several large convention and exhibition centers in Moscow that have certain advantages and disadvantages, so they can compete for certain major exhibitions. But in the Northern capital, in fact, there is only one complex that meets modern requirements to similar venues - Expoforum. “After the transfer of the main events to this site from Lenexpo and the closure of the last one, there will be no alternative to Expoforum, although now there is no competition between them, since they are affiliated. At the same time, it is obvious that St. Petersburg needs a second, maybe a smaller, but meeting modern requirements, congress and exhibition complex in the central part of the city. In the meantime, all the announced projects of congress halls are also located on the outskirts of the city, so they are more likely to compete in price with ExpoForum, rather than in quality characteristics(for example, by location),” the expert noted.

Veronika Lezhneva, Director of the Department of Research for Russia Colliers International, believes that Moscow has a very significant competitive advantage in this plan. “The share of St. Petersburg in the exhibition industry segment is much lower and is mainly focused on the tourist flow. However, it is possible that with the advent of the new large exhibition site Expoforum, St. Petersburg will be able to absorb part of the exhibition activity,” the specialist argues.

Behind the scenes of exhibitions

In general, creating an exhibition center from scratch is a rather risky project, which often takes quite a long time to pay off. The high risk lies, first of all, in the fact that if the demand for exhibition space is quite low, then the economic benefit from the project will be very small. The main difficulty of this segment is managing the facility and selling space for rent. If we are talking about a high-quality premium facility, then the rent is quite high; not every event can afford such a cost. For successful functioning The site needs a powerful, professional sales department. If we talk about a large format, then such objects, as a rule, function independently and are less likely to need significant synergy; they can include mini-hotels, small trading platforms, restaurants/cafes. If we talk about the small format of exhibition venues, they are usually part of hotels.

It is also worth mentioning that the geopolitical and economic situation in one way or another affects all areas commercial real estate, including exhibition activities. However, the situation in this market is not as dramatic as it might seem. And analysts' opinions on this matter vary quite widely.

In turn, Elena Tishchenko, Deputy Head of the Real Estate Market Research Department at Maris in association with CBRE, recalled that in St. Petersburg, during the crisis of 2015-2016, such significant reductions in business activities were not observed. “In the structure of events, the share of small conferences (up to 50 people) is growing, however, the number of large-scale events (from 500 people) is decreasing. The occupancy of conference rooms located in the center is at a fairly high level - more than 60%,” Tishchenko concluded.

Maxim Morozov, managing partner of the development company M9 Development, believes that the crisis in the economy is certainly affecting this market - and now it is undergoing consolidation processes. “Only those players who manage to shape the agenda in such a way that participants can get real benefits for their business remain afloat. Accordingly, events have decreased by 20-25%, but their overall level has become significantly higher, since due to the emergence of a certain shortage such activities, a very representative composition is assembled. At the same time, we are seeing very tough competition from the sites, and if previously it was quite difficult to get discounts, now prices have dropped significantly, and you can get a significant discount to the stated prices," said the specialist.

Careful growth

In general, despite the crisis in the economy, experts see potential for the development of the convention and exhibition industry in Russia, given the active construction of modern and high-quality infrastructure aimed at hosting major events. Among the locations that may be attractive in the near future for the development of the exhibition industry, in addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, we can note Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Ufa and Vladivostok. However, this potential is still being held back and cannot yet fully find its way out in the form of the development of completely new projects.

According to Olga Sharygina, Managing Director of the Asset Management Department of NAI Becar, the vacancy in existing facilities is already high. “I think that when the occupancy of space reaches above 80%, new projects may appear. At the moment, the main task is to renew and create demand for those objects that are already operating. As for the regions, I believe in the development of exhibition venues in cities with a population of over a million." , - Sharygina noted.

And yet, developers continue to announce new projects, although without mentioning specific deadlines for their implementation. Thus, the international investment group Hua Bao plans to build the Druzhba convention and exhibition center on a 30-hectare site on Marshal Kazakov Street in the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg. Construction of the complex with total area almost 250 thousand sq. m will be divided into eight queues. According to the plan, it will be completed around 2024. The project includes hotels, business centers, retail space, and an indoor sports complex.

There are currently about 16 exhibition centers in Moscow. “At the moment, in almost every existing project, to a greater or lesser extent, exhibition events are held on a regular basis, so in the next three to five years, given the economic situation, most likely no new capital cities will be built,” - added Elena Klyucharova.

Today, the congress and exhibition industry of European countries such as England, Germany and Spain is still significantly ahead of Russia in terms of international events. Now Russian market The MICE industry is estimated at about $22 billion, while the global volume of this market reaches $435 billion. However, our country is gradually taking a stronger position in this important area of activity.

Sergey Mikhailov

CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION SERVICES: ALTERNATIVE OR SYMBIOSIS?

Contents, consumers, customers and suppliers of congress services. Congress events - forums, congresses, festivals, symposiums, salons, weeks, conferences, seminars, round tables, meetings, sessions - have become especially widespread and popular under the influence of economic crisis. Recognized effective form business and information interaction, congresses are increasingly used by professional associations, business associations, and industrial unions.

According to the International Congress and Convention Association ICCA, 10% of all international convention events take place in the United States, where only New York Over 400 congress events are held annually. In Thailand, where more than 700 thousand congress participants were received in 2010, the annual income from congress activities is about $2 billion. In Europe, industry congress events are held regularly: more than half are repeated annually, a quarter - once every 2 years, the rest - once every 5 years. The annual growth rate of the global congress business is 8%. In Russia, the congress form of activity is just beginning to develop.

Congress events do not provide conditions for direct sales of products. The main objective of the congresses is to create a communication environment for the exchange of information about production and technological achievements and scientific and practical developments, dissemination of best practices and special knowledge, discussion innovative ideas and directions of development.

As a rule, the customers of congress services are professional associations that initiate holding industry conferences, seminars, symposiums and other business events. Suppliers of a full range of congress services include congress centers, exhibition complexes, hotels, transport and advertising companies. The function of intermediaries between customers and suppliers of congress services is performed by professional organizers congresses (in Russia these are most often tour operators).

The choice of a congress site is made 4-7 years before the event itself. This is characterized by a constant change of countries and regions. When looking for a place for a congress event, organizers strive not only to provide best conditions for work, but also the opportunity for participants to visit a new region and get acquainted with its attractions, since an important part of any congress is the socio-cultural and educational component. Therefore, congress venues are usually located in historical centers.

Congress services at exhibitions. Nowadays, almost all major specialized exhibitions are accompanied by congress events. Sometimes, with their help, even initially weak exhibitions rise to a higher level. The widespread use of congress services at exhibitions can be explained simply - they are in demand by all parties:

expo business, by organizing parallel congress events, attracts additional specialists to the exhibition, as a result of which it achieves increased attention and interest in its projects;
the exhibitor, thanks to congress events, meets more professionals, and therefore potential partners;
the professional expert community in the format of congress events receives a discussion platform and an interested audience;
a guest of the exhibition, attending congress events, can become better acquainted with the latest technologies and trends, find products and suppliers faster.

Since congress services are needed by exhibitors, visitors, and exhibition organizers, one of the areas further development exhibition business, there seems to be a rapprochement, merging and interpenetration of the exhibition and congress components of projects.

Two different businesses - congress and exhibition. There is a trend in the world towards specialization and separation of the exhibition and congress business. International practice indicates that organizing exhibitions and congresses is completely different kinds activities that are characterized by completely different standards and positioning methods, completely specific marketing, promotion and customer service techniques. Holding a large congress with over 5 thousand participants is a task of a fundamentally different level of complexity compared to preparing a conference accompanying an exhibition, since solving the problems of accommodation, transfer, food, and implementing a scientific and cultural program requires a qualitatively different level of qualifications, experience and financial capabilities .

Exhibition and congress activities, in principle, cannot replace one another, and therefore do not oppose or threaten each other. As a rule, professional organizers of large congresses are not operators of the exhibition services market, so they simply do not have a serious reason for competition and rivalry with the expo business.

Congress activities in Russia: problems and prospects. According to experts, the Russian market for congress services has significant capacity, but year after year the country is losing its potential position as a possible location for large international congresses. According to ICCA, Russia's share in the global congress market has fallen by half over the past 10 years and currently stands at less than 1% 1 . Today Russia ranks fourth in the world and second in Europe in terms of the number of international congresses held in the country. Experts see the reasons for this situation as follows.

1. Weak material and technical base for progressive activities. There are practically no convention centers in Russia capable of hosting an international event with over 5 thousand participants. Small-scale congress events are held at the Moscow WTC, Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow Gostiny Dvor and some other venues. Good opportunities for congress activities is provided by the Crocus Congress Center. It is planned to build convention centers in Sochi, Kaliningrad and Vladivostok. A decision was made to build a multifunctional complex with a total area of 50 thousand square meters in Pyatigorsk. m, 15 thousand sq. m of which will be occupied by a congress hotel with 200 rooms, and 10 thousand sq. m. m will house a CC. The project provides conference rooms and infrastructure.
2. No unified system promotion of Russia as a candidate for providing venues for international congresses due to the lack of consolidated efforts on the part of the authorities, national industry associations and the business community. Among the organizers of congresses in Russia, the majority are foreign operators. Only 12 Russian organizations, professionally involved in congress activities, are members of the ICCA.
3. There is no regulatory framework for congress activities in the country.
4. The boundary between the convention business and business program Russian exhibitions are blurred. There is a trend towards convergence between exhibition and congress activities. Exhibition and congress activities in Russia are difficult to separate, since there is simply nowhere to hold congresses except in exhibition complexes.

Adopted in 2010 State standard“Congress activities. Terms and Definitions".

In order to promote Moscow as a platform for holding international congresses, the situation in the capital's congress services market was analyzed, problems were identified and ways to solve them were outlined, a “Concept for the development of congress activities in Moscow for the period until 2015” was developed, and the Moscow Congress Bureau was created .

Convention Bureau - non-profit marketing organization, officially representing a city or region on the congress services market and carrying out systematic activities with the aim of attracting congress and exhibition events to its city or region. The role and place of the convention bureau as a link between consumers and suppliers of convention services is explained in Fig. 5.2.

So, Russia today does not occupy any significant place in the congress market. In this regard, it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of the business community and government agencies to develop measures aimed at creating mechanisms that can ensure effective development congress business in the Russian Federation as a tool for stimulating economic activity and as one of the significant factors contributing to stable social economic development countries.

Rice. 5.2.

Lozbenko L. We need to meet more often. Preferably in Russia // Business and exhibitions. - 2009. -No. 5(43). - P. 58-60.
Expo Vedomosti. - 2011. - No. 1. - P. 6-7.
Congress activities in Russia: problems, trends, prospects // Expo Vedomosti. - 2010. - No. 3. - P. 23-25.
Muravyova I. Congress Bureau: a realized need // Business and exhibition. - 2010. -No. 5(48). - P. 60-62.