The Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a panel discussion on "Urban Infrastructure Development" as part of the program of the Moscow Urban Forum.
"For ten years now, Urbanforum has been held in Moscow. It is not a celebration venue for big cities, but a communication platform, where megacities exchange their experience of best practices, share actual problems and methods of solving them.” said Mr. Vladimir Platonov, the President of the MCCI, in his report. “Big cities are the first to face the new challenges of the times, and, as it happens, these challenges are not unique for the most part - they are characteristic of all large agglomerations. “
The Head of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that he remembers Moscow of 40 and 50 years ago very well: then, in those days, it felt like there were two cities - one for foreign tourists, and another - for Muscovites and Soviet guests. Now, according to Mr. Platonov, the city is fully integrated and adapted for comfortable living. "And the guests do observe the standard of living convenience and wellbeing of the city’s residents", - emphasized the Head of the MCCI.
Then, Mr. Platonov told the participants about the discussion, concerning the Chamber’s aid regarding the pandemic issues, emphasizing the proposals that came from the business community and which were reflected in all the five anti-crisis packages of the State support measures, adopted by the City Government. In addition, he described the main projects, which are designated to help entrepreneurs to carry out their activities; in particular the library of ready-made legal solutions "Documents in order”, the online platform "Business Market", through which businesses can find a reliable partner, supplier or investor. In addition, this platform hosts online trade shows, which, in a pandemic environment, provide the means for carrying out exhibition activities in a remote format.
Mr. Alexander Deryugin, the Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship Support and Development of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development, said that even in a difficult year of 2020, the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the capital has increased. Now every third employee is engaged in SMEs - it is more than 3,5 million people (taking into account individual entrepreneurs and the self-employed). An official of the administration said that the Department supports the capital's businessmen in three areas: consulting and information, educational and financial, detailing each of the components.
Mr. Vladimir Padalko, the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, noted in his speech that the main task of the Corporation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry is to help entrepreneurs overcome the consequences of the pandemic. "We provide a lot of services to entrepreneurs and now we provide most of them on a complimentary basis", - stressed the speaker. As for the development of Moscow, a representative of the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia emotionally said: "Moscow is an example that takes your breath away!"
At the discussion, the elements to consider in the capital's hospitality sector were presented by Miss. IRINA or INNA? Pekhova, the co-chair of the MCCI’s Committee on Tourism and Hospitality, Director of the Center for Creative Hospitality at the The International Institute of Informatics, Management, Economics and Law in Moscow. She said that from April 2020 to April of this year the occupancy rate of Moscow hotels was 61%, which is the best indicator among the leading cities in Europe and Asia. According to the speaker, the hospitality sector is the hardest hit by the pandemic. However, the forecast for this industry in the capital is very optimistic.
Now tourists have become much more selective. Safety is becoming a key factor in choosing places to visit. Hotels have refocused on the domestic tourist, and the so-called "economy of impressions" is developing: travellers are more and more interested in sights, and even not very famous and popular ones. The number of individual excursions is growing, and such unusual excursion cycles as "Moscow through the eyes of an engineer" are in demand.
Digitalization and remote work are also making adjustments to the hospitality industry. According to Ms. Pekhova, a new kind of travellers has emerged - the so-called "digital nomads. These are workers, who are able to carry out their activities from anywhere in the world. According to the expert, they are the future of the industry.
On the whole, Ms. Pekhova was optimistic about the development of the industry. "Any crisis, in particular a pandemic, should be used for resetting, for finding new solutions," she underlined.
The Chairman of the Bulgarian-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Georgy Minchev, said that the absence of uniform procedures for registration of the medical status of tourists, even within the EEC, made the revival of tourism very difficult. Bulgaria is now reorienting towards domestic consumers, in particular rural tourism, which is in demand. “To workers, who have moved to remote work, such concepts as ‘weekends' and 'holidays' are losing relevance," said the speaker. Therefore, more and more people have the opportunity to visit places of interest at any time.
The President of the Central Siberian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Rafael Shageyev, noted that in the region, which he represents, the development of infrastructure occurs empirically, without reliance on a scientific approach. In order to effectively develop the region, according to the speaker, it is necessary to develop investment ‘passports’ of districts. This will allow to understand exactly what resources a particular district needs, what are the points of growth and what areas need to be developed in the first place.
The Deputy Director General of the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Moscow Transport Hubs Directorate”, Mr. Pyotr Krasikov, presented some projects of the Moscow transportation infrastructure development, based on terms of the state-private partnership. He noted the growth of private investments’ attraction in the Moscow region, - the ventures of creating photo-video fixation complexes, overpasses and crosswalks’ construction. There are also large-scale projects: construction of the Northern branch of Kutuzovsky Prospekt, creation of the Moscow Aviation Hub, launching of light rail lines.
The Head of the Operators and Developers Guild of Infrastructure Projects at the MCCI, Miss. Anna Krasnova-Rottman, stated that the MCCI public structure she heads is in its third year. "We are set to work for a long period of time, a marathon, which not everyone can endure.”- she said. The projects, which are elaborated and discussed within the framework of the work of the Guild are difficult, but they provide a huge leeway for development of small and medium businesses. "The motto of the current Forum,”People First”, is very much in tune with us," said Miss. Krasnova-Rottman. She invited the participants of the panel discussion to take part in the second part of the event, which will be held on the same day at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Specific infrastructural projects will be presented there, the light rail line among them, which is already in the process of being launched. This transportation artery will stretch from the south of the Moscow region to the city of Moscow proper.
"The year 2020 has set new tasks for us, marked completely new risks and challenges. But it did not stop the development of our beloved Moscow", - said the moderator of the discussion, the Vice President of the MCCI, Mr. Suren Vardanyan, summing up the event. According to him, "the panel discussion promoted the exchange of opinions and ideas, while helping the participants to understand how we see the further development of the city, where we are going and what we are doing in this respect.”