The Biletarium project made it to the finals of the All-Russian Hospitality Masters 2020 competition. The final semi-final of the Transsib competition took place in the online format on October 8, 2020.

The Masters of Hospitality competition, a joint project of the presidential platform ANO "Russia - Land of Opportunities" and the Nationwide Union of the Hospitality Industry (OSIH) started on November 13, 2019. The project is designed to unlock the potential of professionals, form new traditions in the field of tourism, raise service standards and prestige of the profession. Participants present projects in the tourism sector and compete for the opportunity to receive mentors in the person of eminent restaurateurs, hoteliers and managers in the hospitality industry, as well as grants for the implementation of projects, educational certificates, invitations to internships and work in leading travel companies.

"Anicia Evdokimova, development director of the Biletarium project, made it to the finals of the competition. As a result, we got an opportunity to present our national marketplace for Russian museums to a wide audience of tourism industry professionals. Our success was due to the fact that we have combined our vast experience of participation in industry events and competitions, the personal experience of Anisiya Evdokimova as an expert and speaker, and the elaboration and innovation of the project. We have developed a really interesting and necessary for the industry project, which was highly appreciated by the expert jury and the audience. Our 25-year experience in tourism and knowledge of the tourism market and its mechanisms were also a big advantage. Lots of projects were presented that were looking at tourism from outside, while we went inside with understanding of all problems, "pains", needs of touroperators and tourists, "- said the representative of the project.

The selection of the "Masters of Hospitality" competition began back in November 2019, for 11 months the participants were tested, prepared their ideas, designed presentations and projects. During this time, the Biletarium project has gone the full way from a project idea to a finished product. Almost 21 thousand applications were received for participation in the project, but only 140 participants from different regions of Russia made it to the semifinal. As noted by the organizers, the first place was taken by the Republic of Buryatia, followed by Krasnoyarsk and Primorsky Krais. In general, the geography of the contestants covers almost all federal districts from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka.

About the project

The Biletarium marketplace is a platform where museums in Russia (or companies with contracts with museums) can place their tickets or services, and tourists from all over the world can buy them. The project was created by event-tourist holding company "Favorit" which since 1993 was engaged in receiving foreign tourists on the territory of the Russian Federation, servicing domestic tourists in Moscow, St.Petersburg and on the Golden Ring of Russia, organizing events for business in Russia and abroad.

Due to the appearance of pandemic COVID-19 in 2020 the company stopped its activities completely, therefore the "Favorit" team, having weighed all their experience and competence, assessed the situation and trends in the tourism industry and predicted the market needs for the coming years, managed to restructure the business model of the company so that to create a relevant product for the tourism industry for the next 5-15 years. It is Biletarium.

Already today the project is presented as a web-version and a mobile application on different platforms. The user can choose the language and currency that suits him or her best. After choosing the necessary categories of the tickets to the chosen museums, the visitor of the platform pays for the order and gets a QR code to visit the object without queuing. Then, depending on the technical equipment of the museum, the user can directly show the QR code at the turnstile and go to the museum, or can exchange the code for a paper ticket with a Biletarium employee at the entrance to the museum.

In addition, Biletarium offers the possibility of purchasing group tickets for tour operators working with large groups of Russian and foreign tourists. This functionality is available after the contract is signed, and is implemented programmatically as an application system.

The goals of the Biletarium platform are to stimulate domestic and inbound tourism in Russia, allow museums to offer e-commerce opportunities, promote national cultural values, help tourists to purchase museum services in a convenient and profitable format, help museums to attract international visitors, and assist companies with contracts with exhibitors to increase the number of excursion services sold.

The official release of the project is scheduled for the fall of 2020. To date, the company has already planned steps to promote the platform on the international market - this initiative is also supported by industry communities and committees.