Chichkanov said St. Petersburg is a city of service, and therefore it’s particularly important to develop tourism.

“The city’s idea to be not an industrial center but a center of services defines the policy of the city,” he was quoted by DP Media business communications agency as saying.

Sergei Korneyev, director of the northwestern regional branch of the Russian Tourism Industry Union, said St. Petersburg had finally turned into a European tourism center with all the corresponding attributes.

“European statistics show that in terms of the number of foreign visitors, St. Petersburg stands somewhere between Vienna and Venice. The city has achieved such results for the last three of four years,” Korneyev said at the same meeting.

However, experts say there are still many things that need to be done in the local tourism market to make the city more attractive for tourists.

One improvement would be the introduction of a tax-free system for shopping done by foreign tourists in Russia, said Andrei Chernykh, head of the Tourism Industry Commission at the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, who spoke at the city’s annual business meeting about the tourism industry last week.

“Unlike Europe, Russia still hasn’t introduced a tax-free system for foreign visitors. I’m sure if guests knew they had the opportunity to make use of a service like that here, they’d be even more willing to come,” Chernykh said.

“Of course, the law could not be drawn up overnight, as it would require the development of an entire system, but I think we’ll have it soon,” he said.

Korneyev, who also spoke at the same conference, said simplification of the visa regime would also have a positive effect on tourism levels.

The introduction of a visa-free regime for tourists arriving in St. Petersburg on the Finnish ferry the Princess Maria and staying in the city for no more than 72 hours had a very positive effect, Korneyev said.

“Currently, a similar offer is being considered for tourists arriving in the city on the new high-speed train Allegro from Finland,” he said.

Chernykh said a 72-hour visa-free regime for Allegro passengers could be introduced as early as this summer.

Korneyev said the introduction of a visa-free regime between Russia and countries such as Israel, Egypt, Hong Kong and Turkey had significantly increased the number of Russian tourists traveling to those countries.

The participants of the Senator Club meeting also discussed a number of other essential measures needed to develop incoming and domestic tourism, which were formulated by Denis Pak, assistant of Viktor Yevtukhov, member of the Russian Federation Council.

One of those measures would involve expansion of the city’s support for the opening of new infrastructure for tourists.

Practice has shown that the current system of benefits, such as providing real estate for the construction of hotels under special programs, is not sufficient to provide the necessary number of reasonably priced hotels.

Yachting could be another component of local tourism thanks to the city’s location near the Baltic Sea. However, St. Petersburg would need more yachting infrastructure, participants said.

Experts also welcomed the innovative idea of the tourist Guest Card, a new project initiative which has been available through the kiosks of the St. Petersburg Tourist Information Center since last November.

Nana Gvichiya, general director of the City Tourist Information Center said the card would become an essential purchase for tourists in St. Petersburg.

“For us the card is an opportunity to raise the status of tourism in the city. The existence of a product like this indicates that our city is a Mecca for tourists,” Gvichiya said, according to DP media.

The card will provide tourists with the opportunity to visit a number of the city’s major museums without lines or any additional fees, and to get discounts in restaurants, hotels and stores that have signed up for the program. The Guest Card will include a bus excursion and a boat tour along St. Petersburg’s rivers and canals.

Chernykh said that in general the situation for tourism in St. Petersburg was developing favorably.

“What we also need to do to attract more tourists is to provide positive PR for the city and not only speak about the negative things all the time,” Chernykh said.

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