MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Moscow is ranked tenth among the best destinations for foreign tourists, and the top vacation spots are Rome, Vienna, Athens, Barcelona and Paris, partner expert at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and head of expert practice on working with Russia’s state sector Konstantin Polunin said.
During the year, the poll questioned nearly 2,000 tourists from ten countries - the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, South Asian countries and America, Polunin told a Moscow cultural forum. A ‘dream city’ means a place that they would like to visit for tourism purposes at least once in three years, he explained.
However, only 5% of respondents are ready to take active steps to come to Moscow, he noted.
Certain factors prevent tourists from visiting Russia, in particular language barrier, information access, visa restrictions and the lack of low-cost airlines. According to some stereotypes, tourism in Moscow is expensive, the city is far away and is not safe. "But for most European tourists this is near (it takes two and a half hours to fly from Berlin to Moscow). The security level in Moscow is higher than in many other cities, and this is confirmed by reputable studies and ratings, and speaking about Moscow’s high prices, now this is one of the most economically attractive cities in terms of tourism," Polunin said.
According to him, since 2012 domestic tourism in Moscow has grown 40% and the number of foreign tourists visiting the Russian capital has risen 7%.