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| Friday, 31 August 2012 |
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| CANADIAN GATEWAY HOSTS RUSSIA & BEYOND GALA DINNER | |||||||||
| 26 years of operation celebrated with agents, suppliers and partners | |||||||||
| Zachary-Cy Vanasse | |||||||||
The Elite Grande Restaurant was the site of Canadian Gateway’s Russia & Beyond Annual Gala Dinner on Thursday evening, at which the Russia destination specialist celebrated its 26 years of operation, tourism to Russia and its travel partners. Hosting a gala event was a first for Canadian Gateway, but won’t be the last according to Yury Manukhov, business development director, Canadian Gateway. “This is the first one, but the plan is to make it annual. It’s an appreciation and a recognition of our partners and colleagues and it’s a chance to present our plans and ideas,” Manukhov told TRAVELHotNews.com. “We would also like to thank Transero Airlines, who are very important for [Canadian Gateway].”
Providing travel services to Russia and Eastern Europe, Canadian Gateway announced that it will continue to serve as the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federations. The company was also recently appointed as the official Tourist Information Centre of the Republic of Belarus, with both appointments underscoring the important role Canadian Gateway plays in Canada’s Russian and Eastern European community. “The company is active and well known in the community, especially in the Russian-speaking community... but now it is also well recognized in the travel industry itself,” said Manukhov. Canadian travel interest in Russia and Eastern Europe remains strong and continues to increase steadily, according to Manukhov. The destination’s culture remains its main draw, but Manukhov noted that there has also been a growing popularity in multi-destination cruise and train travel. “[Canadian travellers] are interested in the history and the heritage of Russia. Of course, the famous river cruises are well recognized in Europe and the United States, and are getting popular here in Canada. And also getting very popular is the Tran Siberian Train. It offers two different routes right now; not only Moscow to Vladivostok in the Russian territories, but also Moscow to Beijing. So[travellers] can combine several countries like Russia, Mongolia and China.” With this consistent interest and growth in Russian outbound travel from Canada, Canadian Gateway launched a dedicated Canada program to the Russian marketplace in March, and Manukhov said plans are also underway for a new program in 2013. “Results have been quite good. We’ve had support from the Embassy of Canada to Russia and huge support from the Trade Commission and the ambassadors. We think it’s helped with the relationship between the countries,” said Manukhov of Canadian Gateway’s Canada program in Russia. As the gala event was a celebration of Canadian Gateway’s appreciation for its various partners, Manukhov said that going forward, he hopes to continue to grow the company’s relationship with the travel agent community in particular. “I’d like to work more and more with the agencies,” he said. “It is an important relationship for us. It’s [one we can continue to] use to promote Russia and Eastern Europe to Canadians.”
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