Having carved out a fruitful career in the energy sphere and once heading a foreign representation of the Soviet Ministry of Energy, Abas Aliev, with Perestroika in full swing, shifted to tourism. He started in 1994 in Turkey by renting hotels, then founded a still prosperous tourist company “Regulus-Holding.” In 1999 INTRO 1: Aliev was offered to join the top management of VAO Intourist, the JSC for Travel and Investments, which continues to occupy its leading position in Russia’s travel business. He began as a vice-president, and soon reached the presidential post. Aliev is planning to stay in tourism now as he sees Russia’s future lies in it.

Aliev started in tourism without any professional training, not knowing anything about this sphere, but he learned it in detail during the 6 years in it. He claims that a sum of knowledge means nothings by itself. Only applied knowledge and organizational competence can lead to a positive result.

Which of your past achievements made it possible for you to become successful in tourism?
Having occupied several leading positions, I gained a lot of experience in terms of administrative abilities, which helped me a lot in tourism. I began in Turkey, and the backbone of any Islamic society is fatalism, which means that little attention is paid to the managerial qualities and the high level of control we are used to. I began by carefully planning the company’s activity. I managed to establish an effective organizational hierarchy allowing me to control the smallest affairs from the head office. When I felt likes I was in full control of things, I found it was no longer challenging. And this was when I got the offer to join Intourist.

What do you think is most important for a successful career in tourism?
In general, the first qualification for any job is professionalism. Also tourism, particularly in Russia, is very flexible and responsive to change. It is affected by nature and the political climate; accordingly, it requires ongoing analysis and new decisions every day.

As for specific personal qualifications: Knowledge of languages is very important. One should also possess a basic education in economics and management and know how to work with numbers. In our company, we look for logical minds, for those able to adapt to the new economic conditions.

Intourist has been in this market for 73 years already. What was the major change for the company with the transition to the market economy?
Before, Intourist was a monopoly, and even the amount of tourists visiting the country was planned by the government. Once it had no governmental support, the company had to learn three things: to create the product, to sell it, and to still make a profit.

Second, the economic and political changes in the country affected tourism greatly. The level of incoming tourism decreased tremendously.

Are there any signs of an increase in incoming tourism?
Let’s take it step by step. What does a country need for foreign visitors to be attracted? First, economic and political stability; second, personal safety and security; third, a good infrastructure — hotels, services, etc. — and fourth, promotion, which should be performed by the government.

Taking Moscow, the first three components are present. With Putin in power, political stability seems to have set in. Moscow is no less safe than any European capital. As for infrastructure, all the international hotel chains can be found here. Besides, the Moscow government has worked out a tourism development program up to the year 2010. With respect to advertisement and promotion, there is still no governmental policy addressing the issue.

It is clear with Moscow. What about the rest of Russia?
There, the first 2 factors, political stability and safety, are present, but the level of infrastructure is insufficient, even in St. Petersburg. For example, they are having “white nights” at present and there are not enough hotels for the guests. In my mind, potential improvements depend upon the ability of local and national government to cooperate.

Do you feel any governmental support for tourism?
There is nothing to feel, for there is not any. Today, each company has to manage its own marketing. But what is promotion in tourism? It means advertising Russia itself. We know that in countries leading in incoming tourism, such as France or Spain, the government spends huge sums of money for promotion of the nation’s cultural and historical possessions. Unfortunately, in Russia, tourism is still not perceived as a serious sector of the economy.

Hopefully, those, who just came to power in the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Trade and Economy will be able to advance their ideas and prove that tourism is of importance. But the process is just beginning. As for now, Intourist has to carry out the promotion program on its own.

What is the potential role tourism may play in Russia’s economy?
I will answer by citing some examples. Turkey’s budget is $28 billion U.S. dollars and revenue from tourism is $10 billion to $12 billion dollars. This is what tourism is.

70 million tourists visit France each year. When you add up the amount of jobs it gives people and the amount of taxes these jobs pay, it becomes clear that tourism is almost the leading sphere of the economy.

Would you agree that there is a smaller diversity of tourist programs in Russia for incoming tourism, as compared to the Soviet years?
Yes, travelling is now limited to Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Golden Ring. But the whole situation is different. Before Perestroika, the level and diversity of incoming tourism was determined by the government. Once the borders were opened, Russia became attractive mainly in terms of business travel. In 1998 the default came and then Chechnya. Influenced by this, people decided that they should not go further than Moscow and St. Petersburg because they think it is dangerous, so the market became even narrower.

Foreigners have an inaccurate perception of Russia and some of the mass media aggravate the atmosphere by a misleading interpretation of events. For example, if a tourist bus is blown up in Spain little attention is paid to it, while any small accident in Russia is represented as an act of terrorism. Grozny and Moscow are separated by thousands of kilometers, yet often the perception is that fighting is going on in Moscow itself. This is what I mean when say that there is no promotion. Foreigners have little clue of what Russia is like. As a result, people are afraid and they don’t come.

How easy is it to start a tourism business and become successful?
A company can be established in a day, but surviving is very difficult. The outgoing tourism market is highly segmented. There are 4,000 companies specializing in it, not a single one of which has higher than a 4 percent share. As for incoming tourism, Intourist possesses 25-30 percent of the whole market.

What are the main targets for the immediate future?
To sustain our reputation as a leading company, keep our current share in incoming tourism and be one of the three leading companies in outgoing tourism.