But Ukraine has many historical and natural sites that attract interest worldwide. Our country has unique resort areas, with no analogues practically anywhere in the world. These include mineral waters, mud resorts, and sea coasts.
According to Oleksii Abasov, one of the heads of the Wisher Enterprises holding, tourism development should become a task of national importance. The businessman believes that it is necessary to create a special ministry that will deal with global tourism issues: develop new tourist destinations, promote international advertising of our country, and attract foreign investment.
The businessman also noted that such processes should be accompanied by significant tax benefits for hotel business owners and favorable conditions for investors. But the Wisher Enterprises company is not just passively waiting for the improvement of the business climate in Ukraine. It is doing a lot to implement large-scale projects already today.
Infrastructure for Tourism
The base for international tourism in Ukraine needs to be developed now. Especially since we are having landmark events that contribute to the formation of a positive image of the country, says the head of Wisher Enterprises. One such event was the Euro-2017 festival. Events of this scale are an opportunity to show foreign guests the beauty of the Ukrainian capital. They were able to see from their own experience that Ukraine is not only safe. Active business life is underway here, and broad prospects for doing business are opening up. To support the activity of business tourism, it is necessary to create infrastructure that meets international standards.
At the end of 2017, the congress hotel Mercure Congress Centre will open in Kyiv, the result of joint investments by the French company Accor and the Ukrainian holding Wisher Enterprises. Hotels of the Mercure brand have been successfully operating for a long time in many European capitals: Brussels, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest. How do congress-format hotels differ from ordinary comfortable hotels?
Large areas. Hotels of the Mercure chain are built with the expectation of holding crowded events: conferences, corporate events, seminars. Therefore, they provide a large number of rooms to accommodate all possible guests. In particular, the Kyiv Mercure Congress Centre has 160 comfortable rooms equipped with necessary household appliances and modern means of communication. The congress venue forms a single complex with the hotel. Here, on an area of 5,000 square meters, there are conference halls, meeting rooms, and coworking spaces.
Technical equipment. The congress center integrates new IT technologies that meet all the requirements of business event participants. Depending on needs, guests will be provided with either an individual workplace or a large venue for mass events.
Wide range of opportunities. In addition to traditional services such as accommodation in rooms and use of congress venues, the hotel provides a wide range of additional services. These include organization of any corporate events, catering, and entertainment programs.
Comfort level. The hotel complex includes all departments that ensure comfortable stay for guests. There will be six restaurants, one of which has its own brewery, a SPA center, and a gym. The Mercure Congress Centre also has a terrace for summer relaxation and an outdoor pool 50 m long. All necessary purchases can be made without going far from the hotel. On the territory of the hotel complex there is a large shopping center.
Balanced Pricing Policy
Another attractive feature of Mercure brand hotels is a balanced pricing policy. Hotels of this chain belong to the mid-price range, but at the same time provide all services corresponding to the international level. Clients of the congress center will be offered special service packages that they can use when holding events.
All guests of the hotel will be able to become participants in the Accor chain loyalty program, which operates almost worldwide. With bonuses accumulated in a personal account, you can purchase additional services, as well as various goods from Accor partner companies.
There is a similar program developed specifically for corporate clients. The client's account accumulates monetary amounts for holding corporate events. In the future, this money can be freely used for various purposes.
In addition to permanent discounts and bonuses, there are other programs, information about which will be constantly updated on the hotel's website.
The project curators have no doubt about its success. Optimism is inspired not only by the high popularity of Mercure hotels in the world, but also by the recent experience of cooperation between Oleksii Abasov in Riga with the Accor company. Here, French and Ukrainian businessmen opened the Pullman Riga Old Town hotel. This brand also belongs to the Accor company and represents luxury hotels aimed at serving individual tourism. The hotel was opened in an old mansion located in the very center of Riga. The project participants managed to fully preserve the historical appearance of the building, filling it with new modern content.
The opening of the hotel became an event not only in the hotel business, but also in the cultural life of the Latvian capital. Pullman Riga Old Town became a laureate of an architectural competition. The hotel was recognized as the best architectural project of 2017 in Latvia.
Alexey Abasov assured that his company does not intend to limit itself to opening one hotel in Kyiv. The holding's prospects include building several more hotels in the Ukrainian capital under Accor brands.