Profitable route

In 2007, Saint Petersburg status may be confirmed by a unified conception aimed at reinforcement of its positions in maritime tourism. Early in February, extended meeting of the Division on marine and river tourism of the Maritime Council under Saint Petersburg Government resulted in proposal to develop an integrated program for modernization of water-tourism infrastructure of Saint Petersburg for 2007-2012.

Open chances of

Water tourism

Cruise shipping brings Saint Petersburg at least EUR 200 million. Nevertheless, the city looses millions of dollars annually, Sergei Korobkin, Perspective Development Director of Marine Yacht-Club LLC remarks.

Saint Petersburg is annually visited by several millions of Russian and foreign tourists, however, only few of them come by their own motor boats and yachts: today Saint Petersburg annually accepts maximum 100 foreign yachts falling far behind Tallinn (8.5 thou) and Stockholm which accepts several tens of thousands of yachts.

Saint Petersburg as a marine capital does not play any significant role today in development of Russian water tourism. There are several factors, which hinder such a development. First of all it is deficit of mooring places in yacht-clubs and at the rivers in the center of Saint Petersburg. Available berths are not fitted for acceptance and servicing tourists at a modern level: all of them require special equipment and unified aesthetic appearance. In 2006, only 3 thou of 37.3 thou of registered small-size vessels had mooring places though the majority of them did not correspond to normal European standards. However, the survey says that 251 mooring places for small passenger vessels may be arranged within the water area of Neva-river and at rivers and canals of Saint Petersburg.

Korobkin thinks the conception of modernization of water-tourism infrastructure of Saint Petersburg should provision arrangement of new and unification of existing mooring places for small-size vessels at the rivers and canals of Saint Petersburg. “I think it would be reasonable to open new yacht-clubs at the outskirts of the city, for, example, in Lakhta of Primorski district and at the right bank of Dudergofski canal,” he says. New yacht-clubs may arrange mooring for 800 vessels, a ground for interseasonal storage of water crafts for 1500 places, as well as covered slipways, training yacht center and hotel-and-entertainment complex.

…Cruise market

“Saint Petersburg role at this market segment does not correspond the interests of the city,” Igor Glukhov, chairman of the permanent committee on development of sea and river tourism infrastructure, Director General of Infleet Worldwide. “We should not count only on foreign shipping companies.” It is important to ensure stable passenger flow through activities of Russian fleet. It is the practice of our neighbors – Estonia and Finland.

According to Glukhov, throughout the nearest 7-15 years, maximal capacity of cruise market of the Baltic Sea will total about 500,000 passengers per season. From 2005, ferry link between Saint Petersburg and Baltic states has been closed and it is still difficult to say when it is to open. Actually, our existing visa requirements make functioning of a ferry line to be almost impossible. Last week at the meeting dedicated to industrial port complex of the Gulf of Finland, Saint Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko suggested Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the State Duma, that passengers of sea ferries and cruise liners should be entitled to spend 72 hours at the territory of Russia without visa, which will enable us to develop water tourism in Saint Petersburg.

The Division decided to apply to Saint Petersburg Governor with a request to initiate amendments into Federal Law On Russian Federation Entrance and Exit Procedure.

This issue is very important today owing to implementation of the Sea Façade project. The project’s maintenance and payback period depend directly on recovery of all-the-year-around ferry link. Design capacity of the complex is said to be 1.5 million passengers per year, which is not possible to achieve through only cruise shipping. Glukhov reported that new passenger terminal will not be profitable without normal operation of all-the-year-around ferry links. “Positive solution of the visa issue could contribute to attraction of leading Baltic and Scandinavia ferry lines to Saint Petersburg in the nearest future and to develop favorable conditions for operation of national ferry lines,” Glukhov thinks.