The International Conference on "The Role of Railways in the European Tourism", organised by Business Dialogue with the assistance of the N.I. Borodina Russian Centre and the official support of Russian Railways, will take place from 14 to 15 April 2011 in Merano, Italy.

In recent years the tourism industry has developed and been recognised as the world’s biggest service provision business. This has been possible as a result of the borders between states becoming more open, the signing of the Schengen Agreement, people having more money to spend, and the development of the transport infrastructure. All this has enabled travelling to become a mass phenomenon and the attitude towards tourist trips themselves to change, turning them from a luxury item to a factor of everyday life. As tourism develops, transport routes will constantly expand, since the increase in the demand for trips has a positive influence on the development of the transport infrastructure. And transport in turn makes it possible to expand the geographical scope of travel. A mutual influence takes place that is useful and beneficial to both sides.

The International Conference on "The Role of Railways in the European Tourism" will be taking place in order to discuss the significance of railway transport, its influence on the development of European tourism, and how to determine the strategic areas and prospects for the development of international rail tourism.

The programme for the two-day conference will include a plenary session entitled ‘The development of inter-state rail transport as a growth factor in the tourism market’. The event’s subsequent work will be based on four sections discussing the following topics: setting up railway tours on inter-state and international routes, updating the visa regulations between Russia and the European Union, European hospitality, and the integration of Russian routes into the European tourist areas.

The participants in the conference will include senior executives and representatives of the railways of Russia, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France; leaders of tour agencies in Europe, heads of tour agencies and representatives of the administration of South Tyrol, as well as representatives of Merano and Bolzano business communities and leaders of industry alliances and associations.

For further information about the event, please contact the client services department at Business Dialogue:
Tel.: +7 (495) 988-18-00