The most anticipated annual event of the tourism industry, the 31st International Exhibition of Tourism and Hospitality Industry MITT 2025, took place in Moscow from March 18 to 20

Over the three exhibition days, MITT 2025 was visited by about 16.5 thousand people. More than 1,000 exhibitors from 54 regions of Russia and 34 countries took part in the event . Among them were national and regional pavilions, hotel chains, IT and airlines, leading tour operators, aggregators and agencies, and many other players in the tourism market. This year, the exposition covered 17.5 thousand square meters.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko sent an address to the participants of MITT 2025. He noted Russia's enormous potential for the dynamic development of tourism and the hospitality industry, due to the diversity of climatic zones, unique routes and rich cultural heritage.

"The tourism sector has a multiplier effect on the economy and contributes to the development of more than 50 related industries. By decision of President Vladimir Putin, the national project "Tourism and Hospitality" is being implemented in Russia. The goal has been set to increase the contribution of tourism to the country's GDP to 5% by 2030 and ensure an increase in the number of domestic tourist trips to 140 million. Within the framework of the national project, the necessary conditions are being created for the development of tourism infrastructure, including through the construction of federal year-round resorts of the "Five Seas and Lake Baikal" project, as well as personnel training and the promotion of national tourism products," Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized .

He also expressed confidence that the discussion of key issues of tourism development on the sidelines of the exhibition will contribute to solving the industry’s current problems.

Events such as MITT contribute to improving the quality of tourism and increasing tourist flow, said Mokhmad Akhmadov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, at the opening ceremony. "The largest exhibition in Russia and the near abroad has been gathering professionals for over thirty years who are ready to present new proposals and effective solutions in the hospitality industry. Currently, there is an increase in domestic tourism, which is becoming increasingly popular due to the interest of citizens in the rich history, culture, traditions, and unique natural resources of our country ," he noted.

Mr. Haitham Mohammed Al Ghassani, Director General of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman, said that such a large-scale event as the MITT exhibition is a special event for Oman, as the country is participating for the first time. “We are pleased to reveal the tourism potential of our destination. The connection between Oman and Russia is getting stronger, and we are pleased to welcome tourists from Russia ,” he emphasized.

The agreements reached on the sidelines of MITT help develop the Russian tourism business and strengthen international cooperation, said MITT Director Maxim Shilov. He thanked the exhibition participants for filling the exposition with the colors of their countries and regions, and the business program with unique content that attracts thousands of professional visitors every year. "But the most important thing is that we work to make people happier, to give them emotions, helping to open new routes," Maxim Shilov added .

Vadim Trukshin, CEO of Mantera Group, agrees with him : "I would characterize recent years in tourism as a triumph of human-centeredness. Guest happiness is impossible without employee happiness – and this is one of the big challenges facing everyone who works in our industry. Tourism is not just an industry. It is an opportunity to create memories that will stay with us for a lifetime. This is an economy in which emotions have not only value, but also a price."

Over the course of three working days, representatives of government bodies took part in official tours of the exhibition: Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Mokhmad Akhmadov , Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Vakhrukov , Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Nikita Kondratyev , Director of the Center for the Development of International Tourism, Center for Strategic Research Foundation Yulia Maksutova and others.

Foreign participating countries , including India, Oman, Abu Dhabi, China, Tunisia, Cuba, Nepal, Venezuela, Uganda, Malaysia, Kenya, Madagascar and many others, introduced visitors to the exhibition with great opportunities for recreation and national color. For the first time since 2019, Iraq joined MITT represented by Al Rafidain Travel & Tourism. This year, Turkey presented a particularly large-scale exposition with the National Pavilion, pavilions of the Antalya and Mugla regions, the pavilion of the largest tourism association TURSAB, as well as the medical tourism pavilion HEAL IN TÜRKIYE, which presented the potential of Turkish clinics.

The regions of Russia demonstrated the tourism potential of our country at MITT. The republics of the North Caucasus were presented brightly, with national music and dances, offering guests a wide range of types of tourism - from sports and beach to ethnographic and popular science. The delegation of the Kamchatka Territory treated visitors to local cuisine and presented the project "Passport of a tourist of the Kamchatka Territory". Representatives of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra introduced visitors to fishing and reindeer herding tours. The Ivanovo Region held a presentation of its small towns and famous folk crafts.

A special place in the MITT exposition was given to health and medical tourism. These areas are currently receiving special attention due to the reorientation towards domestic travel and interest in anti-stress recreation. The best health resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, Crimea, Altai Krai and Krasnodar Krai presented their services and programs at MITT. Participants from Moscow, Leningrad Oblast, Crimea and other regions of Russia, as well as from abroad, presented their medical programs and tours. The largest representative of the medical tourism market HEAL IN TÜRKIYE (Turkey) introduced visitors to the exhibition to the most prestigious hospitals and dental clinics in the country.

MITT 2025 Business Program

Over the three days of MITT, more than 30 events of various formats were held: thematic sessions, conferences, presentations, discussions and training seminars. They were attended by 265 leading speakers and opinion leaders of the tourism and hospitality industry. 3.8 thousand guests of the exhibition attended the events of the business program. The key event of the MITT 2025 business program was the V Forum of Leaders of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. This is a meeting place for heads of travel companies, hotels, and government officials to discuss strategic issues of industry development. The main topic of discussion was the trends that will shape the industry in the future.

On the first day, a plenary session entitled "Future Horizon: Challenges and Opportunities of Tourism and the Hospitality Industry in Russia" was held. The event brought together leading experts, business representatives and government agencies to discuss current issues of industry development in the context of modern challenges and transformations. An important aspect of the plenary session was the active participation of top officials of regional ministries of tourism and hospitality. Their presence was a clear indication of regional support for initiatives aimed at strengthening Russia's position in the international tourism arena.

As part of the forum, at one of the thematic sessions “Tourism 2025: Expert Forecasts and Market Transformation in New Conditions,” top managers of key tour operators and travel agency networks shared their vision of modern industry trends and forecasts for the future.

The President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry , CEO of the national tour operator "Alean" Ilya Umansky identified three vectors of development of the Russian tourism market. These are digital technologies and artificial intelligence, development of the segment of alternative forms of accommodation, as well as travel for content. CEO of Fun&Sun Vladimir Rubtsov noted that China has burst into the leaders of outbound destinations. He named the top 10 tourism destinations for Russians: Turkey (4.48 million tourists from Russia), the UAE (1.47 million), Egypt (1.196 million), China (1 million), Thailand (935 thousand), Abkhazia (513 thousand), Armenia (320 thousand), Georgia (244 thousand), Azerbaijan (230 thousand) and Uzbekistan (190 thousand).

Another notable event of the forum was the panel discussion "Health tourism for the most effective vacation. Trends in industry supply and growth forecasts for 2025". Participants discussed key trends and consumer trends in this area, including: demand for high-quality diagnostics and personalized programs, an increase in the share of "family guests" (with children), increased demand for short-term trips, etc.

At the session "Safe Harbor of the Travel Business 2025: Analysis/Finance/Digital", business representatives discussed effective tools for developing the hospitality industry through lending, government support programs and the creation of digital tools: BigData-based analytics, the implementation of AI solutions in hotels, etc. Vladimir Kulikov, Head of Public Sector Products at SberAnalytics, said that tourist trips around Russia are becoming increasingly intense - about 25% of all trips are on composite tourist routes that include several cities. In 2024, Russian tourists spent more than two trillion rubles on trips (+11.2% compared to 2023).

"The tourism industry has a unique multiplier effect: every ruble of income in tourism brings 5 rubles in related industries. The hospitality industry is a driver of regional development and it needs to be supported and developed ," emphasized the session moderator, Executive Director of the Center for Industry Expertise "Tourism" of Sberbank PJSC Konstantin Markov.

During the thematic foresight session, Dmitry Vakhrukov said that over the past year, Russia has succeeded in developing inbound tourism. "In 2024, the number of foreign tourists accommodated in hotels increased by more than a third. We are already seeing the results of the launch of the single national brand Discover Russia. We are expanding the scope of the project this year - we plan to present the domestic tourism potential at international exhibitions in Beijing, Bangkok and Doha. This is an opportunity to position the region in a new way, which must definitely be taken advantage of," the minister said.

In addition, the MITT 2025 business program included the following events:

// Trend session "Current state and development prospects of the hotel market and hospitality industry in the Russian Federation: analytics, legislation, support measures".
// Expert session “Glamping 2.0: a new look at a sustainable industry”.
// Conference "Trends in the development of medical tourism".
// Panel discussion: “HR strategy for industry development”.
// Kommersant session "Growth points for the development of tourism infrastructure in small towns".
// Expert session "Autotourism and ecotourism: synergy for nature conservation".
// MITT Academy is a free course for tourism professionals.
// Congress of hoteliers "MITT Summit Hotel".
// MITT Digital is a conference dedicated to the prospects of using information technologies in the tourism and hospitality industry.
// MITT MICE is an educational conference that addresses issues of business tourism industry development and event preparation.
// School of Regional Tourism Development - its participants became familiar with the intricacies of tourism development in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

MITT 2025 Awards Ceremony

The most important event of the final day was the award ceremony for the participants of the MITT 2025 exhibition at Sber Arena.

Ceremony nominations:

// Best National Stand – Oman;
// "Best New Member" - HEAL IN TÜRKIYE;
// "Best Country Presentation" - PRC;
// "The most hospitable stand" - Cuba;
// “For long-term cooperation” – Malaysia;
// "A Loud Return to MITT" - Goa and Tour Operator Al-Rafidain Travel & Tourism (Iraq);
// “The most striking debut in the exhibition” – Mobitrak;
// “The most active participant of the year” - Ostrovok;
// "The most creative stand" - Kavkaz.RF;
// "The most hospitable stand" - Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra;
// "The most visited stand" - Ivanovo;
// "The most colorful stand" - Ryazan;
// “The most active stand” - Republic of Tatarstan;
// “For long-term cooperation” – Saint Petersburg;
// "Best representation of a region of Russia" - Republic of Dagestan.

During the ceremony, the winners of the competition “Best Video of the Regions of Russia 2025” received prizes:

// 1st place - Udmurtia;
// 2nd place – Khabarovsk Krai;
// 3rd place – Sakhalin region.

The most active participants of the MITT Connect business community were also awarded :

// Donintourflot;
// "Nevsky Seasons";
// MICE Excellence.

Diplomas recognizing special achievements in the presentation of their product/direction were received by:

// Moscow region;
// Abu Dhabi;
// Tunisia;
// Algeria;
// Myanmar;
// Workshop of hospitality.

For the fifth time, MITT hosted the MITT Travel Start competition , dedicated to the best startups in the Russian tourism industry.

The winners are:

// 1st place - Qmodule
// 2nd place - TOUCHH
// 3rd place - ImSkipper

MITT 2025 Exhibition Partners

// Title partner - Sber;
// General partner of the business program is Mantera Group;
// Business program partner - "Ostrovok";
// Partner of the plenary session – Sevastopol;
// Business program partner: Monchegorsk;
// Mountain partner - Altai Republic;
// Drinking water partner - "Tbau", Bavaria Group;
// The partner region of the plenary session is the Chuvash Republic;
// Strategic partner - the Republic of Dagestan;
// The warmest partner is Kavkaz.RF;
// Strategic partners of the MITT Digital conference are Ozon Travel, Travelline, Bnovo, Rostelecom TravelTech;
// Business program partner - MICE Excellence;
// Business program partner - Cronwell;
// Partners of the MITT Digital conference – Digital tourism – Russian Railways – Digital passenger solutions, MyAgent, Hotelbook, Travelata.ru;
// MITT Digital Conference Partner – Digital Hotel — Bronevik.com, Sutochno.ru, Yandex Travel, Avito, Othello, Hotbot.ai, TeamJet, StayDay.

See you at the 32nd International Tourism and Hospitality Exhibition MITT 2026 on March 11-13 in Moscow!

Mitt 2025 Results: New Foreign Destinations And Domestic Tourism Formats.