Avi Aliman has found his niche in Moscow: helping people to get here.
Owner and a co-partner of Andrews Travel House, one of the country's leading travel agencies and visa dealers, Aliman has been working in the Russian travel industry since it began in the early 1990s. And he has a motto to match his decade-long tenure in the local business community: persistence.
"Russia has the image of a place where people come to make quick money," he says. "In [the travel] industry that is impossible: You should be ready to invest time, effort and money to make the business grow."
A 30-year-old native of Tel Aviv, Aliman lived in Israel and the United States before coming to Moscow in 1992 to help his mother open a travel agency, ITS, which was one of the first in the country to focus on airline tickets.
Fresh out of the University of California at Los Angeles, Aliman began his business career in Russia's brand-new corporate travel market.
The biggest problem for the business at the time was a lack of rules, Aliman says.
"[It] was a lawless period. Not only were the rules not clear, there was just a lack of rules for the [travel] industry," he says.
"Russia was learning what kind of laws it needed, and we were learning what kind of business we wanted to create."
His mother sold half the business in 1995, and Aliman moved to Italy. But he came back to Moscow six months later after receiving an offer to work as a consultant with Travel House, a travel agency founded by Swedes Lars H?gsta and Inge Magnusson in January 1995.
"I guess my fate was to come back," he says.
Six months later, Aliman had become a partner and bought a controlling stake in the company.
Aliman struggled to create a Western-style service in Moscow, a difficult process because clients had very high expectations.
"In the West people are used to a very high level of service for very low prices because of high levels of competition," he says.
"They apply for the same service in Russia, don't get it and look upon it as a failure. In reality, it was a young industry that didn't exist in Russia before."
Aliman's main focus has been on maintaining a certain level of service and strong relationship with clients.
"A travel agency is like a problem solver," Aliman says. "We try to recruit staff that take responsibility of people's problems, and we work very hard on building relationships with clients."
Aliman expanded Travel House's business, boosting its staff to 80 employees before merging with Andrew's Consulting in December.
The combined company -- Andrews Travel House -- currently has 150 employees and offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and London.
"We originally found that we were mirror-image companies," Aliman says.
Although Travel House and Andrew's Consulting were similar in size, client base and target market, the two companies varied in the services they offered, he says.
While Andrew's Consulting had specialized in visas and had a small travel department, Travel House had specialized in travel but had a small visa department.
Aliman says that he and Andrew's Consulting head Andrei Voronin, now his partner, understood that consolidation in the travel industry is the key to success.
"By making the company one, we became much stronger in both [services]," Aliman says, adding that the merger was a positive step for the market in general.
"Mergers will reduce the number of players and will make the market more competitive among the larger players," he says.
The merger did not always go smoothly -- but management's determination overcame initial culture clashes and different styles of management, Aliman says.
Andrews Travel House provides services to a wide range of corporate clients and arranges visa services for other travel agencies.
Aliman and Voronin are hoping to expand the agency to the regions and take on more employees. However, Aliman wants to lower the number of foreign workers from the current four to just one.
"Foreigners living in Russia have a limited stay," he says. "The future of this country and its business is with the local people."
Owner and a co-partner of Andrews Travel House, one of the country's leading travel agencies and visa dealers, Aliman has been working in the Russian travel industry since it began in the early 1990s. And he has a motto to match his decade-long tenure in the local business community: persistence.
"Russia has the image of a place where people come to make quick money," he says. "In [the travel] industry that is impossible: You should be ready to invest time, effort and money to make the business grow."
A 30-year-old native of Tel Aviv, Aliman lived in Israel and the United States before coming to Moscow in 1992 to help his mother open a travel agency, ITS, which was one of the first in the country to focus on airline tickets.
Fresh out of the University of California at Los Angeles, Aliman began his business career in Russia's brand-new corporate travel market.
The biggest problem for the business at the time was a lack of rules, Aliman says.
"[It] was a lawless period. Not only were the rules not clear, there was just a lack of rules for the [travel] industry," he says.
"Russia was learning what kind of laws it needed, and we were learning what kind of business we wanted to create."
His mother sold half the business in 1995, and Aliman moved to Italy. But he came back to Moscow six months later after receiving an offer to work as a consultant with Travel House, a travel agency founded by Swedes Lars H?gsta and Inge Magnusson in January 1995.
"I guess my fate was to come back," he says.
Six months later, Aliman had become a partner and bought a controlling stake in the company.
Aliman struggled to create a Western-style service in Moscow, a difficult process because clients had very high expectations.
"In the West people are used to a very high level of service for very low prices because of high levels of competition," he says.
"They apply for the same service in Russia, don't get it and look upon it as a failure. In reality, it was a young industry that didn't exist in Russia before."
Aliman's main focus has been on maintaining a certain level of service and strong relationship with clients.
"A travel agency is like a problem solver," Aliman says. "We try to recruit staff that take responsibility of people's problems, and we work very hard on building relationships with clients."
Aliman expanded Travel House's business, boosting its staff to 80 employees before merging with Andrew's Consulting in December.
The combined company -- Andrews Travel House -- currently has 150 employees and offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and London.
"We originally found that we were mirror-image companies," Aliman says.
Although Travel House and Andrew's Consulting were similar in size, client base and target market, the two companies varied in the services they offered, he says.
While Andrew's Consulting had specialized in visas and had a small travel department, Travel House had specialized in travel but had a small visa department.
Aliman says that he and Andrew's Consulting head Andrei Voronin, now his partner, understood that consolidation in the travel industry is the key to success.
"By making the company one, we became much stronger in both [services]," Aliman says, adding that the merger was a positive step for the market in general.
"Mergers will reduce the number of players and will make the market more competitive among the larger players," he says.
The merger did not always go smoothly -- but management's determination overcame initial culture clashes and different styles of management, Aliman says.
Andrews Travel House provides services to a wide range of corporate clients and arranges visa services for other travel agencies.
Aliman and Voronin are hoping to expand the agency to the regions and take on more employees. However, Aliman wants to lower the number of foreign workers from the current four to just one.
"Foreigners living in Russia have a limited stay," he says. "The future of this country and its business is with the local people."
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.
Remind me later.
×
Remind me next month
Thank you! Your reminder is set.
We will send you one reminder email a month from now. For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy.