Host City Saint Petersburg – a European Roadshow

(Source: Visit Petersburg)

On 9 November at the House of journalist took place a press conference dedicated to the European advertising roadshow with the help of mobile trailer office within the framework of FIFA World Cup 2018 preparation program of St. Petersburg. Director General of the City Tourism Information Bureau, Evgeny Pankevich, as well as the famous traveler and coordinator of the St. Petersburg Harley Days Festival, Igor Shcherbakov took part in this press conference.

In recent times, the city is actively working on its promotion. The proof is the road show "HOST CITY SAINT PETERSBURG", organized by the Saint Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development and aimed at popularizing the Northern Capital of the Russian Federation as the host city of World Cup 2018, which will be held from 14 June to 15 July 2018 in Russia.

As part of the preparation of St. Petersburg for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the City Tourism Information Bureau specially purchased a mobile trailer office, so called information trailer. This is a real equipped tourist information pavilion, just on wheels. The information service is available here in the format of information window that provides an equal access to all people, including citizen with disabilities.

The advantage of a trailer office is that it can be moved quickly by means of transport and located close to the places where significant events are carried out: mass cultural events in the historic center of the city, important exhibitions and congresses in the suburbs.

Saint Petersburg city residents first saw it in June, at the Festival of Flowers. On that day, the mobile information office for the first time took place in the parade of flowers, traveling along the Nevsky prospekt. Throughout the summer it was "on duty" in different places of Saint Petersburg: at the Passenger Port of "Marine Façade ", Konyushennaya Square during the FIFA Confederations Cup, at the Palace Square. "Ask me. I know the city" service staff, who worked in the mobile information office, advised the foreign and Russian tourists on those questions that have arisen while visiting St. Petersburg and provided relevant information on how to spend time in the City on Neva river.

Now the mobile office has a new mission – to promote Saint Petersburg as the host city of the World Cup 2018.

The head of the City Tourism Information Bureau, Evgeny Pankevich spoke about how a promotional European road show will start from the Palace Square on 14 November 2017. He stressed that the purpose of the event was to present the touristic and football potential of our city.

"This project is still nowhere else to be found, and we are the pioneers in this sense. The purpose of our road show is to promote St. Petersburg as the gateway to the World Championship. We will also work on stadiums and in city center, work with the fans and all those who are just interested in our city. Our task is to show St. Petersburg as a safe city, which is also comfortable for tourists to stay" , – explained Evgeny Pankevich.

The route of the two-week advertising road show will start from Helsinki, then from Finland's capital the trailer office will cross the Baltic Sea on the ferry and on November 16 will come to the German port town of Travemünde. The further route of the road show: Hamburg-Stuttgart-Munich-Gelzinkirhen-Dortmund-Cologne-Brussels. The dates of its arrival in the cities are timed to the major Champions League football matches and the German football Championship. In these locations the promo team plans to distribute various information materials, meet with representatives of the tourist business in Germany, interact with bloggers and mass media.

"Germany will be holding two major events at this time: the Bundesliga matches and the Champions League. Our trailer office will work at the stadiums during these matches, it will move around the city and work near the main city attractions", – the head of the Bureau noted. – "This promotion of St.Petersburg will undoubtedly attract attention to the FIFA World Cup, and also will tell the citizens of Germany and Belgium about the main tourist products of St. Petersburg".

By the way, no city budget will be spent on the road show program. All costs for transport and hotels will be assumed by the partners of the road show: Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus, the Finnlines ferry company, the Concierge Association and the organizer of the festival "St. Petersburg Harley Days".

The captain of the advertising campaign and the driver of the vehicle provided by Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus, which will be attached to the mobile trailer office, will become a famous traveler and experienced promoter Igor Shcherbakov. He added that motorcyclists who were well acquainted with the "St. Petersburg Harley Days" Festivals would join the Saint Petersburg motorcade in Europe. They will also become members of the advertising road show and help to promote the Northern Venice.

The following road show should become a rehearsal for a more global advertising campaign, which will be held at the beginning of the year 2018 in most Western European countries.

"We believe that this way of promoting the image and brand of St. Petersburg is quite effective and appropriate. In 2018, we plan to carry out another trip that will be more extensive. It will be France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and virtually the whole Western Europe", – Evgeny Pankevich emphasized.

　　The first promotional tour around the European cities organized by St. Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development will solemnly start on 14 November at 15.00 at the Palace Square. The event will last until 25 November.