Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to find out the form of Russian outbound MICE tourism and the needs of Russian companies in Finnish congress/incentive services. The study investigates if there is any demand from the side of Russian market for Finnish supply of MICE services. It also gives the answer to the question: what needs a Russian customer has in MICE travel.

In the theoretical part of the study the information was gathered from secondary sources such as literature, the Internet sources, newspapers and previous studies’ results. Theoretical framework of the research was created: MICE tourism and Russian MICE tourism in particular were discussed, the concept of demand in MICE tourism was examined, the main elements of MICE market were looked at in detail, the partner of the research was introduced and the future trends in MICE market were determined. An empirical part of the study consisted of the qualitative research, which was described in detail. The empirical part gives the description of the flow of the empirical work done and the results of the research. As a tool individual interviews with the representatives of MICE services providers and purchasers in Russia were used. To analyze the obtained data the coding method was applied.

As a result of this thesis the form of Russian outbound MICE tourism was found. The results show what kind of needs Russian companies have in Finnish supply of MICE services. The work also gives the recommendations on how to begin the work with Russian market and how to achieve it: the model of the product was created. Moreover, the research revealed important aspects in MICE tourism development in Russia such as the influence of the economic crisis and a young age of MICE tourism in Russia.