Alexander Biba: tourism as an investment in the region

On April 24, the Prosto Kapital Financial Forum was held in Moscow, attended by Alexander Biba, President of Cosmos Hotel Group. The forum, which has been held by the PSB since 2020, brings together representatives of business, government and the expert community to discuss issues of economic development, the investment agenda and modern approaches to regional growth.

During the plenary session on regional development, Alexander Biba stressed that tourism is becoming one of the notable drivers of the regional economy today, and the hotel infrastructure is an important part of the territory's tourism brand.

According to him, a high-quality hotel affects not only the comfort of the guest, but also the investment attractiveness of the region, business activity and the quality of the urban environment. The construction of hotel facilities provides a multiplier effect for related industries such as trade, catering, tourism services, transport and equipment rental.

Separately, Alexander Biba drew attention to the importance of joint promotion of territories by business and regional authorities. According to him, such projects are already showing results in such regions and cities as Karelia, Altai, Murmansk and Omsk.

Speaking about the prospects of domestic tourism, the president of Cosmos Hotel Group noted that the market retains growth potential. Among the most promising travel scenarios, he singled out event, sports, pilgrimage, youth, wellness and medical tourism, as well as short trips for 2-3 days.

The speakers of the plenary session also included Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Ruslan Kukharuk, Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, Aisen Nikolaev, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Vera Podguzova, Senior Vice President and Director of External Relations at PSB Bank PJSC, Katerina Tikhonova, CEO of Innopraktika Natalia Kaspersky, President of InfoWatch Group, Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian National Software Company, and Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. The event was moderated by Russian journalist, radio and TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov.

Photo: Mikhail Grebenshchikov, RBC photographer