Saratov city and oblast - international economic development study Saratov City and Oblast International Economic & Tourism Development Strategic Research on Location Economics and Opportunities © 2008 Jürgen Barthel Rheinring 3c • D-38120 Braunschweig • [email protected] ________________________ 1/61 Saratov city and oblast - international economic development study Table Of Contents Management Summary ............................................................................................................... 3 Saratov ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Status Quo ............................................................................................................................ 4 Commerce Rating ............................................................................................................... 4 Saratov Regional Advantages .............................................................................................. 5 Saratov Regional Shortcomings ........................................................................................... 5 Saratov Scenarios ................................................................................................................... 6 Tourism ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Status Quo ............................................................................................................................ 7 Saratov Tourism Information Office ...................................................................................... 7 Getting to Saratov .............................................................................................................. 7 Search Engines .................................................................................................................. 8 Architecture ....................................................................................................................... 8 Saratov Aviation Plant ......................................................................................................... 9 Travel Agencies .................................................................................................................. 9 Hotels ............................................................................................................................... 9 Restaurants ....................................................................................................................... 9 Shopping ......................................................................................................................... 10 Public Transportation ........................................................................................................ 10 Taxi ................................................................................................................................. 10 Internet Access ................................................................................................................ 10 Volga .............................................................................................................................. 11 Languages ....................................................................................................................... 11 Tourism Scenarios ................................................................................................................ 12 Saratov Tourism Office ...................................................................................................... 12 Internet Information ......................................................................................................... 12 Internet Access for Visitors ............................................................................................... 12 Aviation ................................................................................................................................... 13 Status Quo .......................................................................................................................... 13 Saravia ............................................................................................................................ 13 Airport ............................................................................................................................ 13 Competitive Development ................................................................................................. 13 Aviation Scenarios ................................................................................................................ 14 AirlineConstruct ................................................................................................................ 14 Airport Development ........................................................................................................ 14 Saravia ............................................................................................................................ 15 Saratov » Southern Russian Freight Hub ............................................................................ 16 Attachments ............................................................................................................................. 17 ________________________ 2/61 Saratov city and oblast - international economic development study Management Summary With kind support by the German Foreign Chamber of Commerce, the German Honorary Consul in Saratov and others, based on an inquiry by members of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives1, this research on the international potential of the Saratov region was initiated by Barthel.eu Travel Trade Consulting. In reply to the support and interest by the organizations and individuals addressed during the research, the study was expanded in order to cover not only the immediate scope of business travel, but the entire economic impact resulting from the existing shortcomings that were motivation for the initial study. Focusing Saratov, the neighboring location of Samara was used for comparison where necessary. Saratov is an important industrial location with better ratings by RAexpert.org than Samara. but for the economic climate, Samara leads. Researching about the reason for that discrepancy, the primary reason found was the accessibility of Saratov by air (passenger + freight). Access by road, rail and ship (Volga) as well as three bridges crossing the Volga makes Saratov otherwise a natural crossroad. A number of universities, giving Saratov national and international reputation can provide excellently trained staff, at this time (2008/09) forced to emigrate to Samara, Moscow or St. Petersburg for decent jobs. The research confirmed the current situation that flight services to Saratov cannot be booked or ticketed internationally. They can neither be booked online on the local airline's website, but phone calls and immediate purchase by the few authorized agents or at the airport office are required. That includes large and important corporate accounts like Bosch. A number of recent developments, like OJSC Saratov Airlines2 announcement to join the new airline construct following AiRUnion3 or a court ruling to break up Saravia's monopoly at Saratov Airport give reason to expect that the situation with aviation to/from Saratov will face a major shake up shortly. Another shortcoming is the missing availability of English language information about Saratov and information for travelers to Saratov. A number of ideas have been identified and verified on site and added to the study. Information by the German Foreign Chamber of Commerce, Moscow (ahk.de), research by a member of the Russian Marketing Guild and management representatives of local companies further qualified this study. In order to complete the study, the author has visited Saratov in fall 2008 for an unsponsored research. The experience during this trip, as well as the feedback during the numerous meetings with regional managers and government officials, are part of this study. Saratov has the potential to become an important center for commerce, industry and travel on the Volga within 2-10 years. The most important issue to be addressed is to enable international air access for passengers and freight. Where the legal framework has been set, the local government protects the status quo. This study and its attachments address the options. This independent and neutral study contains not only Status Quo but was expressly asked to also provide specific recommendations for future development. 1ACTE, http://www.acte.org/ 2Open Joint Stock Company Saratov Airlines, also known as Saravia, http://www.saravia.ru/ 3A lot of contradictory information, so the study avoids a name but uses „AirlineConstruct“ instead. ________________________ 3/61 Saratov city and oblast - international economic development study Saratov Status Quo Commerce Rating According to Expert RA rating agency4 Russia, Saratov enjoys a very sound and favorable economic and commercial climate, but space to improve: Business Climate Samara City: C++ (Quite favorable business conditions, which are improving. Entrepreneurs and B investors expand their business.) Saratov has borrowed 13 place in a rating of sites for accommodation of the information 112 on accommodation of orders for the state and municipal needs, 2007 year. Oblast: Investment