"We would like to make Moscow one of the most important parts of Radisson's operations in Eastern Europe", said Curtis Carlson, founder and board chairman of Radisson's parent company, Carlson Cos. , in a meeting with Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov last week.
Carlson said that he expected details of a working agreement with the Moscow government to be ready for official release by Thursday.
Details of the proposed agreement are being kept secret, but Carlson said that Radisson wants to build a second project in the center of Moscow. Currently, Radisson operates one hotel here, the Radisson Slavyanskaya.
Carlson offered to use Radisson's sister company, Carlson Travel Network -- the largest travel agency in the United States and Canada -- to bring millions of tourists to Moscow.
In exchange, Moscow would help Radisson open another hotel in the city, providing land, office space, communications and logistical support.
"We will invest as the opportunity presents itself", Carlson said. "But our first priority is to build in downtown Moscow. That is where the opportunity is for us".
He declined to say how much Radisson was prepared to invest in Russia.
"Moscow can accept five to six million tourists a year", Luzhkov said. "If that happened, it would be the rebirth of the city of Moscow".
Tourism in Russia and the former Soviet republics has been battered by the breakup of Intourist, once the only state travel and hotel agency. Travelers have also been scared away by political unrest.
But Carlson painted a different picture of the country.
"This instability that you read about, we don't see it", he said. "I have no doubt that this will be a mutually profitable arrangement".
Carlson said that Radisson; which owns 282 properties worldwide and whose total 1992 sales are expected to top $10 billion, plans to hire Russians and train them in modern hotel management techniques in the United States.
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