| |
By Viktoria Braychenko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer,
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 5, 2004
YALTA CONVENTION
Ukraine becoming noticed as a convention spot by westerners
By Viktoria Braychenko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, May 5, 2004
As Ukraine's economic profile rises globally, it's starting to become
noticed as a convention spot by westerners, with Kyiv, western Ukraine and
the Crimean coast as the most popular destinations. In June, a U.S. dental
organization will meet in Yalta, becoming one of the first North American
groups to tap into Ukraine's nascent business travel sector.
Yalta's beauty and Western-style seaside hotels make it attractive for
business travelers, said a representative of the Chicago Center for Advanced
Dentistry, but the real appeal is affordability.
"The price of the conference in Ukraine is very reasonable compared to other
European and American conferences," said Lance Erickson, the Center's
regional director of sales and marketing. "Our goal was to find a way of
bringing world-famous speakers and experts to the conference, while also
keeping it affordable for everyone."
Industry insiders say the business travel market in Ukraine is taking shape,
slowly.
Yevhen Kiktenko, conference services manager at New Logic travel agency,
said domestic travel firms provide business travel services to foreign
companies eyeing Ukraine as a new market, and to companies already operating
in Ukraine, like the Chicago Center for Advanced Dentistry.
Since 1998, the Center has opened offices in Kyiv, Vilnius, Almaty, Mumbai,
and Moscow. The Centers offer a range of services to local dentists,
bringing them into contact with their peers from the U.S. and Europe.
WHERE TO STAY
The Yalta-Intourist hotel complex and the four-star Oreanda Hotel are both
capable of accommodating events the size of the Chicago Center's, Kiktenko
said. But comfort doesn't come cheap in Yalta, which is more affordable than
a comparable Western European location, like the French Riviera, but still
pricier than Kyiv.
"Considering the transportation costs we'll spend bringing the event and our
people all the way to Yalta," Erickson admitted, "It would have been cheaper
to hold the conference in Kyiv or Moscow."
Last year the Center held a similar conference, attended by 400 dentists, at
Moscow's Marriott Grand Hotel. But neither Moscow nor Kyiv is a known as a
coastal paradise, with stunning seaside mountains and a resort
infrastructure (if still a largely Soviet one) that makes it ideal for
tourists. Erickson said that while some Europeans may view the long trip to
Yalta as inconvenient and Crimean amenities as underdeveloped, "the views of
the sea are simply breathtaking."
The Center purchased hotel packages for its June event through a Yalta-based
travel agency. Some of the 500 expected participants will stay at the
Yalta-Intourist hotel complex, and others will stay at Oreanda Hotel. The
conference organizers have also booked rooms at the Bristol and Levant
hotels. The three-day conference costs $500, and $200 for dental students.
"We don't see any major roadblocks that would prevent our conference from
being a successful event," Erickson said. "And we're impressed with the
facilities available in Yalta."
"We hope [the dentists] will see the possibilities that exist in Ukraine," he added.
Viktoria Braychenko, Viki@kyivpost.com, Kyiv, Ukraine
FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
PHOTO: Yalta's beauty and Western-style seaside hotels, like the Oreanda
Hotel make it an attractive destination for business travelers. |
|
back
