In 2012 Russia became the member of World Trade Organization and that gives a lot of new responsibilities as well as many possibilities for the development of Russian Economy under the new International conditions. It also results in the increase of International meetings and conferences, which take place all over the country and especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Galaktika Company is happy to state that within the last few years the number of components of MICE industry has grown dramatically in Russia.

We suggest upgraded and sustainable solutions due to necessity in accord with the major European drifts considering the national specific features. The Russian market has become in this respect a goldmine offering a splendid combination of high level services and unique infrastructure. One might ponder that this does not make Russia any different from developed European countries which have been in this business long enough to know what the customer wants and what ways are more effective to meet their requirements. However, having fairly recently lifted the Iron Curtain the Russians started quickly gaining information about the ways to comply with existing European knowledge only to, in a few years discover that they have even more to offer. The space of the former USSR has become a fertile ground to drop the seed of new knowledge and way of thinking.

The advantage of Russia today as MICE destination is the ability to offer any combination of classic features in a deeply historical and exotic space.

Russian cities and namely Saint-Petersburg have grasped precincts of European and rout Russian culture. Peter the Great, the founder of Saint-Petersburg, the ruler who might have done for the country more than any other Romanov dynasty member, wanted to take the best from Europe and introduce it in the developing Russia. He invited the best European architects, artists, scientists and engineers to create the city. He invested a lot of efforts to educate people and always positioned Saint-Petersburg as the window to Europe. Having later become the capital of Russian Empire, the city has picked up the newest and the best things from Paris, Berlin, London and many other forward-thinking European capitals.

The historical heritage of the past is well taken care and it is a subject to be proud of. Galaktika company recommends to include the visits to such famous places of St Petersburg as Summer Garden, which was recently reopen after the restoration, world famous Hermitage Museum and a special part of Hermitage collection Storage, Russian Art museum, to have a stroll along Nevsky Prosepct or to have fun with “Joke Fountains” in Peterhof as well as to see unforgettable Catherine Palace with its unique Amber room!

All this together with quickly developing infrastructure of up-to-date venues, new business and exhibition centers, vast modern airport terminal, which is under the construction now and planned to be put into operations in 2014, alongside with hotels, restaurants and bars of International standard gives a full picture of what Saint-Petersburg has got to offer – a complete range of services capable not only to meet the needs of worldwide meetings and conferences, but also tailor-made solutions for incentives and business trips.

In spite of some skeptical comments about the state of Russian Economy we face the signs of its growth, i.e. more and more Joint venture companies start operations in Russia and in particular in the region of St Petersburg, new business schools educate specialists in different spheres, English language becomes more and more common language in Russia. So those who decide to have the meeting, event, incentive or conference in St Petersburg will have it in a friendly atmosphere of positive business environment. Apart from that the new modern IT achievements give the opportunity to make the online web conferences and Galaktika company has experience of organizing such web conferences in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which take place simultaneously in different parts of the world and that is getting more and more popular, targeted to communicate the counterparts and peers working in the same field all over the world.

Furthermore we want to indicate some more facts to insure why Saint-Petersburg destination should be your choice in Russia:

• Being a big city, a port and a place where guests are always welcome, the Northern Venice as many people romantically it can be easily reached from Europe. There is a great choice of ways to reach the city. The flight time from most of the European cities is within 2,5 – 3 hours, the fast train Allegro from Helsinki will bring the guests to St Petersburg in 3 hours and having access to the Baltic sea the ferry line has perfectly scheduled connection with such countries as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Baltics.
• St. Petersburg is the destination for gourmets, who want to try the authentic Russian cousin, such as Russian Borsch, Chicken a la Kiev or Beef a la Strognoff, which originated in St. Petersburg. These dishes became world famous and probably not many realize that it is a typical Russian cousin. The Russian Fast food is also very popular here. We recommend to try Russian pancakes served with caviar, sour cream, chopped egg and onion or Russian dumplings staffed with meat and served with sour cream. It is even more exiting to participate in the cooking classes during which the secrets of Russian cousin will be revealed by the chiefs of the most popular restaurants in St Petersburg.
• It goes without saying that Saint-Petersburg is a place to offer a great variety of incentive programmers, no matter whether it is the one for a tiny company from the countryside or people from a corporation experienced in travelling, who have seen quite a lot and are not easy to surprise. The city has got so much to offer in terms of culture and entertainment with a special Russian feeling. The city is well known for its classical ballet, vivid folk dancing and singing programs. We realize, that sometimes there is not much time to go to the theaters and that is why we suggest to invite professional dancers and singers to be a part of the cultural program for the Incentive event in order to give an idea of Russian national character, music and dance.
• The city has resources to satisfy every conceivable inquiry, no matter whether a customer wishes to rent a plain, but smart conference hall in the hotel, or hold a grand reception in one of the splendid and festive halls of the palaces in or outside Saint-Petersburg.
• Once one gets tired of the rhythm of big city, there is a brilliant opportunity to escape by going to Leningrad region to enjoy the resort area and beautiful nature of the countryside. Another unique opportunity to get the touch of history is going to the ancient capital of Russia – Veliky Novgorod. It is located within 3 hours drive from Saint-Petersburg. There one can spend the whole day, just walking along the city, visiting the splendorous Kremlin and enjoying the atmosphere of ancient and contemporary Russia that exist in Novgorod in perfect harmony.
• The last but not the least is the shopping in St Petersburg. One can enjoy it any day of the week, since the Flee Market, small shops as well as big shopping Galleries and Malls where all International brands are represented are open daily, without days off.

Summing up everything mentioned above, Galaktika Company is happy to offer to the customers coming to Saint-Petersburg easy access to the city from Europe, convenient accommodation, well-developed modern infrastructure, great diversity of venues to satisfy any need or liking, overall positive business environment, uncanny facilities for cultural and physical nourishment, unique blend of local and European technologies and cultures. All this makes St. Petersburg a perfect destination for MICE projects where guests can enjoy the romantic of White Nights and White Days!