Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

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What’s Hot This Summer: Virtuoso’s Best Destinations

Aleksandr Shatskih

Virtuoso, the international luxury travel network, has just announced the hottest destinations for the Summer of 2016. Recognized as a key trend forecaster, the data mining company leverages $35 billion in transaction data to glean what travelers seek. Here’s a look at the logical favorites and a few surprises that surfaced in Virtuoso’s recent findings.

Vladimir Putin Says Egypt & Turkey Travel Problematic

Phil Butler

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed last week the situation with regard to Russian tourists once again visiting Egyptian and Turkish resorts. Mr. Putin spoke in an annual Q&A session before the Russian people, saying no good solution has been found for ensuring security of Russian tourists in Egypt.

SnapShot GmbH Demos to Vienna Hotels

Aleksandr Shatskih

In hotel technology news this week, analytics startup SnapShot is touring European cities demonstrating its new flagship product to hotel execs. Yesterday, company CEO Stefan Tweraser was in Vienna at Hotel Melia showing off the free cloud-based data analytics tool.

Russia-India Move Forward With Tourism Collaboration

Aleksandr Shatskih

Efforts to promote tourism in between Russia and India recently came to the forefront at a Russia Centre of Science and Culture event dubbed “Russia as a Tourist Destination”. Held on March 12th, the event set the table for a programme for development of mutual tourist traffic between Russia and the countries of Eurasian Economic Union and India.

Sochi’s Alpine Festival BoogelWoogel Tops Guinness Record [Video]

Phil Butler

The BoogelWoogel Festival held at Rosa Khotur ski resort outside Sochi, Russian Federation set a new Guinness Book World Record April 9th. More than 1000 skiers clad in bathing suits descended the slopes there, shattering an old record set in Siberia.

Sochi Resorts All But Completely Booked

Phil Butler

The Mayor of Sochi told reporters this week, 2016 promises the resort near full occupancy. At a session of the public coucil, Anatoly Pakhomov said the resort town will see upwards of 96% occupancy in 2016.

Yakutia Airlines Connects North America & Russia’s Far East

Phil Butler

Yakutia Airlines is boosting the number of flights from Alaska to destinations in the Russian Far East and beyond. The Russian carrier now offers American travelers a spectacular opportunity to visit some of the world’s last bastions of true wilderness.

Bulgaria’s Black Sea Resorts Sold Out for Summer

Aleksandr Shatskih

In a bit of great news for Bulgaria tourism, hotels on the Black Sea have reportedly closed bookings for the Summer holiday season. According to reports, the season is completely sold out for the 2016 season.

Nicolae Ceausescu’s “Spring Palace” Opened to Public

Phil Butler

Earlier this month the luxurious private estate of Romania’s late communist leader, Nicolae Ceausescu was opened to the public. The massive 80 room “Spring Palace” (Palatul Primaverii), designed to the president’s specifications, was the Ceausescu family home for over 25 years. Here’s a look at the former Romanian leader’s estate, and at how Romanians view […]

Teimuraz Y. Chichiashvili Receives “Man of the Year” Leadership Award

Phil Butler

The organizers of the Russian Hospitality Awards and the organizers of the 11th Annual Conference on investments in hotel businesses of Russia and the CIS (RHIC) have jointly awarded Teimuraz Yu Chichiashvili, President of PATERO Development, the first ever “Man of the Year” award for leadership.