The speakers were Dmitry Anfinogenov, President of AIRIS, Sergey Baloyan, Deputy General Director of the Altai Palace casino of the Siberian Coin gambling zone, Elena Pivovarova, Legal Director of the Crystal Tiger casino of the Primorye gambling zone and Elina Kushnirenko, Director of public relations. from the playing area “Krasnaya Polyana”.
The key topic of discussion was the impact of the gambling business on the development of the tourism potential of the regions. The speakers and the moderator of the session unanimously highlighted the important role of playgrounds in the generation and growth of the tourist flow. Discussion participants also emphasized that the presence of gambling pools further stimulates leaps in the development of transportation infrastructure and related businesses.
AIRIS President Dmitry Anfinogenov drew the attention of the session participants to the current strategy for the development of the gaming business:
– Today, the game zones work to build the tourism industry. This is our main task and priority. Modern playgroups are developing along the path of multifunctional entertainment centers. Today, the main flow of investments goes to the creation of non-gaming projects, such as the RED ARENA entertainment venue and the VI Game theater in the Krasnaya Polyana gaming zone, an amusement park, a beach and a campus for employees in Primorye. , new hotels and restaurants in Altai and in Kaliningrad. Such facilities help to even out the seasonality and attract new guests to the gaming zones. Therefore, such tactics stimulate the development of event, eco and gaming tourism in the regions.
Attracting international guests has become a separate topic of discussion. Representatives of the gambling business from Sochi and Vladivostok shared their experience and the results of work in this direction.
– Before the announcement of the global quarantine, the Krasnaya Polyana gaming zone was actively receiving tourists from Turkey, Israel, Bahrain and China. Direct flights were organized with these countries, and the percentage of income from foreign guests reached 30%. The pandemic temporarily crossed out this practice. However, there is now a trend towards a gradual return to previous performance. Sochi already receives direct flights from Tel Aviv and, at the beginning of the year, the Chinese authorities announced the resumption of group travel by its citizens to Russia. This is positive news for the gaming industry and tourism in Russia. For example, in the pre-Covid period, the Primorye gaming zone received around 250,000 visitors from China annually. And now, finally, the conditions for the return and even the increase of this flow are emerging, – Elina Kushnirenko, PR director of the Krasnaya Polyana gaming zone, spoke about international work.
The session participants separately noted the special natural places where the play zones are located. Dmitry Anfinogenov expressed the general point of view and vision of development:
– Pay attention to the unique geographic locations of the gaming groups. These are the confluence of the Black Sea coast and the Caucasus Mountains, the Baltic coast, the Altai Mountains and the Ant Bay in the Far East. The nature of these places needs no introduction and invariably attracts a large number of people from Russia and other countries. In this scenario, the game groups will act as additional points of attraction for tourists. Unique natural areas only benefit from the proximity to the casino, receive additional investment, the development of transport and other infrastructure, the growth of the market for related goods and services, the creation of professional opportunities for the local population, and much more.
