#like vellere

[vermillionmars]

silly vultures :)

[swede1952]

Silent Watcher

This turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) watched from a dead tree as we walked by this morning.

"The word vulture likely comes from the Latin vellere, which means to pluck or tear. Its scientific name, Cathartes aura, is far more pleasant. It means either “golden purifier” or “purifying breeze.”" - allaboutbirds.org

You can check out my gallery at:

[2th]

The word 'vulture' likely comes from the Latin ‘vellere’, which means to pluck or tear. Black Vultures are “family-oriented” birds – they feed their young for up to eight months after their young have fledged and often stay together in family groups. Vultures can live to be 25 years old.

[thuranni]

ryker’s partners who are ready to go places with him whenever: vaelmir, morgane

ryker’s partners who have, like, a home, and need some notice but will pack up and run around hunting things with him: gale, miri

ryker’s intensely agoraphobic husband: drake

vellere: vellere

[deroderbs]

some doodles and refs for Phantasma Oasis, a little story i've been thinking about despite being busy with school

MedMan is inspired by Will Wood's “Chemical Overreaction”. This guy escaped death miraculously multiple times

Jal's a college student/adventurer who broke off from her group to find out buried truths and ancient lore

Anansi Chaela is a gypsy-like travelling fourtune teller, who had been troubled by her visions and dreams. she's partly inspired by White Knuckle Jerk

Last is Vellere Gunner, whom i still need to work more on with the visuals. but he's a sly old man who works both for the sheriff and prowls among the gangsters, taking advantages from both sides of his 'work'. He's a result of listening to “6up 5oh copout”

[musicnewsfirst]

A man who looked like Weller watched football at a meeting of the State Duma

A man who looked like Weller watched football at a meeting of the State Duma

News | 23 11 2022, 20:38 | SeverPost Photo: Telegram / OFNEWS / Okolofutbol News At a meeting of the State Duma, a man who looked like the ex-mayor of Murmansk, State Duma deputy Alexei Veller was watching football. On the posted photo in telegram channel “OFNEWS / Near-football News” shows that the working screen is covered by a tablet on which a football match is being broadcast. Based on the…

[libidomechanica]

As superson closer

 As superson closer the clatten, 

the ration, from sweete soul, to 

aye shall do see. Take a birds to endly love  you were it is my part; A roses grey  to may me at noontinent they should wooden I, 

long. I dream. and daughes mortal gaily, and virgin 

Daught and overs choosened tip of agape—  be signified to but Phyllis itself reach 

many a rough to your hear and her 

because sight, its noble  she day I trouble fruit presenters over  heath, the fief, the treest absolemn coulde than  Pity of dogs so clash the more, since  lily says, “Put ye complisht with man  come vnto hers. Throats late and may I keep that nevery  sigh, and person, them, knows let uselesse  your wonnes embells, to thee, saying of 

fallen feel there are but itself so late, sit is  the isle speak the love, just my most  of beat a lyzard tune! In fa for  your golden only in sung than to  medicing dove, to owe your hair. For 

nape or crawled me, the wing care not down frost  and othere wit did filth or God, if ever  sun angels any beseech as well my orator.  But like a lyzard someth such and me worst: 

if a little aged so for you  in prove all I saw a day it was  bright, they figurd by bones arms, which think to  my love then though this drizzle, you God is squin injury. 

To be no conting respleasant shouting  of ages. Bending fevery essed  the couchs planets face, and is figurd veller  weake, then that I couldnt better to the  murmur appeal his signd have you wilt the 

missing me, that I lovely pity as if  to Light all thy thread. Then sweet me your checks fall?  They say too much to blown tosses that she  dark reeded flower of old all designe, here, in  women sweetly going: you did have and  plains, pried vers, and ere find boste, his converse- men and deathine. Which this thoughts thin that it  basting day side, shall it, for as sigh.”

[babaleza]

he woke up in a nightmare

Here is me from my stressed-out period with my OC Veller Saradin, hii I hope I can do more works of something I really like in the closest future, cuz all I need to do now it’s work, work and work for my college projects, and it’s boring 

This pic is the mirror of all of my anxiety not good feelings, but I also wanted to show it in a warm and bright colour palette 

I brought a new graphic tablet yesterday and Veller is the first really good work I done since my busy days, and I love it so much

He is my sun boy, be nice to him

[ripetogether]

open starter:  open to m/f/nb muses. set in halfway, oregon verse. 

     “did you ever see that it remake with that kid from stranger things in those fuckin’ coke bottle glasses?” the question was out of left field, but will was tired of researching. trying to read the dusty books just made him feel like he was developing asthma and he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. their town made no sense, it wasn’t meant to exist. there were no secrets to unravel, just glee to find in the pure nonsensical bullshit they had to wade through. he ignored their answer, continuing under the assumption that they had seen it even if they said no. “that scene, where you can see the librarian smiling like a freak in the background, i’m pretty sure ms vellers over there is like that... like, specifically she’s some sort of demon who eats children. or probably the goats, there’s a lot more to chose from if you’re consuming our goats.” will would know, considering the fact that his family often lived off the ones that wandered into their big backyard when times got tough. he hated the taste, but maybe it was due to the trauma of once finding out that they’d murdered one of his few friends one winter. billy was a good goat, he didn’t deserve to be a sub-par stew. he turned his head, searching for said librarian. “i thought she was gonna eviscerate me when she saw me in the stacks. we have bad blood.” 

[your-good-pal-chevy]

A Night on the Town

The King of Wands. A disreputable office, to be sure. Few had fond memories of the place. Happy people rarely crossed the threshold into that lion’s den. Happy people rarely had cause to. It was the luckless sort, the kind who’d had everything taken from them, that found their way into that king’s court.

As for that night’s job, it was a simple one. An old man had been robbed on the street just outside. Burst in offering to pay to get back what had been stolen.

Of course, this was Veller City. Biggest city to ever fall off the map. Nothing was ever really that simple.

The proprietor of the King in Wands Detective Agency, a man we will call King as many of his customers tended to, listened to the man’s offer. It was obvious he wasn’t a normal old man; he carried the stink of magic and his can was clearly the instrument of a trained wizard. This of course begged an obvious question.

How could a man who clearly has power be robbed by a simple thug?

King didn’t ask that. The old man was clearly trying to hide what he really was, and King was bored enough to be intrigued. It was a slow night. With a curt nod, he threw on his coat and raced out the door.

King was a big man. Real big. Stood head and shoulders over damn near everyone he’d ever met. Lots of people thought he must have some kind of gland disorder. He was well over six feet and built like a truck. Not the kind of guy you’d expect to run well, save for his long legs and clearly proportional set of lungs. Crook couldn’t have gotten that far, so King liked his chances.

The thief hadn’t gotten far. He was a ways down the street, but the King had a long stride and was used to chasing crooks through rougher terrain than this.

The guy had only a couple blocks of a head start. It wouldn’t last.

King began to sprint. The streets of Veller were quiet this time of night; the day folk were heading to bed while the night folk were getting out of it. A strange sort of witching hour at only eight o’clock or so. Any later and there would have been more people milling about.

The night air was crisp as King began to sprint. It didn’t take long for the guy to realize he was being followed. King was a quiet guy, but three-hundred or so pounds of burly detective didn’t move at a full tilt without turning heads. With a start, the guy dashed into a side alley and out of sight.

King would’ve cursed if he wasn’t sprinting. No telling what the guy would try to pull in that alley. He looked too scrawny to think he had a chance at getting the drop on a guy like King. Would he try to hide? Would he try to run?

King hated unknowns. Hated it when he didn’t have all the variables. Still, he was bored, and the chase was a decent enough diversion to make up for it.

King reached the alley. It was empty, of course. Perp had to be either hiding or out the other side. He pressed on, wagering on the latter. Couldn’t smell the guy around.

That’s when King heard the cocking of a hammer from behind a dumpster. He was aiming to get the drop on King.

Surprises do happen, King thought to himself.

King came to a stop beside the dumpster. Guy didn’t show himself. King figured he was waiting for his pursuer to get past the dumpster in order to shoot him in the back or something. Maybe he would say something like “Put your hands up!” That might be funny.

Instead, King just slowly approached the dumpster (moving much more quietly than when running at full speed) and braced himself. Then he gave it a kick.

The dumpster skidded on its wheels, old and worn down as they were, and knocked into the guy hiding behind it. He gave a cry of pain and fell to the ground.

“Robbing people out front of my place of business?” King clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Really, what has the world come to?”

The guy hadn’t lost his grip on his gun and whirled around onto his back, aiming square at King’s chest. “Don’t move! I’ll-”

“You’ll shoot?” King reached for a pocket. “You mind if I smoke? Wait, nevermind, I don’t care.” He produced a package of cigarettes as the thief protested, put one in his mouth, and lit it with the lighter he’d kept in the pack. “Well, go ahead, I haven’t got all day.”

“Fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means shoot me if you’re gonna shoot me, kid. How old are you, eighteen? Nineteen? I don’t think you’ve got it in you.” King took a drag and blew smoke toward the ground. “Besides, not like it’ll matter much.”

“What’s- What are you talking about?” The guy seemed confused now. Off his rhythm.

“Why don’t you find out?” King would’ve grinned here, were he the grinning type. Instead he just stared down at the scared thief, eyes full of malice.

[thebadtravellers]

Had to share another pic of amazing Macau! I never get tired of visiting and seeing views like this 🇲🇴🌸@visit.macau . . . #thebadtravellers vellers #macau #macaulifestyle #vacation #holiday #city #discovermacau #asia #travel #traveling #explorer #wanderlust #adventure #travelblogger #instagood #skyscrapers #views #travelphotography #instatravel #lpfanphoto (at Macao, China)

[talamega]

16/365

Tryin' to recall the last time I read some fiction. Tryin' unsuccessfully. Well, formally I took The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle the previous summer when goin' to a business trip but it doesn't count as I read the book several times (I fuckin' adore the novel). This is my vacation book to be precise. So I can remember reading Nabokov, Kundera and Loe in 2005-2006, Vishnevsky and Aleshkovsky in around 2008, Lem, Pelevin, and almost everything by Strugatsky brothers in around 2009-2010, Veller, Dovlatov (reread), and Rubina in 2012, Tolstoy somewhen in 2013-2014, King in 2015-2016. And there is a kinda emptiness after. Well, I can remember a couple of autobiographies and a huge amount of articles on various topics but nothing regarding fiction. And what I noticed while reading The Chronicle was that I couldn't focus on the text for a long time. To keep up with the story, to walk the streets, and listen to characters I often had to read some parts of the text twice and even more. It feels like I have to learn to read fiction again. Guess, I need to make a promise for this year to start reading fiction anew.

[azaleapaths]

open starter: open to m/f/nb muses. set in halfway, oregon verse. they’re searching for information about the town in the library together. the usual fucked up town stuff, but there’s more info at the link. 

     “did you ever see that it remake with that kid from stranger things in those coke bottle glasses?” the question was out of left field, but will was tired of researching. trying to read the dusty books just made him feel like he was developing asthma and he was pretty sure it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. their town made no sense, it wasn’t meant to exist. there were no secrets to unravel, just glee to find in the pure nonsensical bullshit they had to wade through. he ignored their answer, continuing under the assumption that they had seen it even if they said no. “that scene, where you can see the librarian smiling like a freak in the background, i’m pretty sure ms vellers over there is like that… like, specifically she’s some sort of demon who eats children. or probably the goats, there’s a lot more to chose from if you’re consuming our goats.” will would know, considering the fact that his family often lived off the ones that wandered into their big backyard when times got tough. he hated the taste, but maybe it was due to the trauma of once finding out that they’d murdered one of his few friends one winter. billy was a good goat, he didn’t deserve to be a sub-par stew. he turned his head, searching for said librarian. “i thought she was gonna eviscerate me when she saw me in the stacks. we have bad blood.” 

[jamiekturner]

Startups in Amsterdam that you should keep an eye on (and their cool websites)

There are many amazing startups in Amsterdam. Amsterdam tech companies are quick to take advantage of the Dutch city’s many advantages, making it a place to be reckoned with on the tech scene.

Amsterdam has become a tech hub in its own right, one that is beginning to compete with San Francisco’s nearly legendary Silicon Valley.

Amsterdam has a long and storied history of being a global and international hub. It is home to more than 578 international ICT companies, of which 170 have chosen to make Amsterdam the location of their headquarters offices.

What makes Amsterdam such a great city for businesses? The city has the fastest broadband speeds in Europe.

It is ranked fourth in the world for app invention and development. Amsterdam is also the gateway to Europe and beyond due to the fact that is very well connected with land, air, and water transportation.

Amsterdam serves as the Netherlands’ data center. It grew by about 15% in 2016 alone which was a continuation of the city’s double-digit growth that’s started in 2010.

The population is remarkably quick to adopt technology developments early. This all combines to make it a great place for the development of new tech. Startups in Amsterdam find that the city is a great testbed.

Tech companies in Amsterdam are very high caliber. A number of Silicon Valley startups have offices in the city, including Google, Uber, Salesforce, DoubleDutch, and Cisco.

There are also a large number of homegrown startups in Amsterdam, as well, including TomTom, Booking.com, WeTransfer, and The Next Web, among others.

Startups in Amsterdam

 Fairphone

Fairphone approaches telecommunications with a people-first approach to phone design. They are very proud of their innovative phone designs and created the world’s first ethical and modular smartphone.

They actively campaign to make cobalt mining industry more transparent and less exploitative. Cobalt, if you’re curious, is a material that is used in the lithium-ion batteries that are used to power most electronics.

Land Life Company

Land Life Company wants to restore our planet for the next generation. They created their innovative planting technology, COCOON, which is a sustainable, scalable and cost-effective method of planting trees and plants in dry and degraded soil.

Blendle

Journalism micropayment company Blendle allows subscribers (it claims it has one million) to pay for single articles from news outlets – typically around €0.35 a pop, but there’s also a “Premium” model of 20 articles per day for €9.99 a month.

EcoChain Technologies

EcoChain looks to make business processes more efficient, effective, and sustainable. They create tools to help companies understand sustainability and incorporate it into their planning.

  PastBook

PastBook lets you create photobooks from pictures posted to social media. Facebook and Instagram integrations allow for photos, captions and dates to be added to a book and printed.

Tiqets

Tickets to culture and entertainment from your smartphone. No printing, no waiting.

Bloomon

Bloomon offers regular flower deliveries to homes and businesses. Launched in 2014 by Patrick Hurenkamp, the subscription-based firm aims to deliver fresh bunches 36 hours after they have been picked.

Bynder

Bomberbot

Vandebron

Aart van Veller’s startup believes energy production can be local. Customers select producers such as farmers with wind turbines on their land, and agree to have their electricity supplied by them.

Revue

Founded by Martijn de Kuijper and Mohamed El Maslouhi, Revue lets its customers curate content from across the web in email digests.

Picnic

Picnic delivers food using 200 electric vehicles. The shopless firm has its own fulfilment centres and only orders food from suppliers once customers have paid.

EclecticIQ

EclecticIQ Fusion Center Intelligence Essentials. Their curated multi-source intelligence feed lets your analysts spend more time on detection, prevention, incident response and threat hunting.

Earlydoc

Earlydoc helps you make the right decisions about your health and that of your family and friends. It tells you exactly what your doctor would tell you: if you need to find help, what you have to watch out for, what you can do yourself & much more.

Deskbookers

At Deskbookers, they revolutionize the way you organize your work, and meet with your colleagues and business partners.

They give you direct access to the best work and meeting spaces, which can be booked per hour, based on real-time availability. With direct access to thousands of spaces, Deskbookers has you and your business covered, wherever and whenever you want to work.

Wercker

There is a fundamental shift happening in how applications are built and deployed. The applications of tomorrow have more than 1 process, codebase, configuration, environment, and operate at an increased scale.

Fashiolista

Fashiolista is a fashion community that helps you save & share your greatest fashion finds from anywhere on the web. It’s fun, highly addictive and a great source of fashion inspiration.

Peerby

Peerby is an app and a website that enables consumers in cities to borrow and rent the products they need in 30 minutes or less by asking around in their neighborhood.

Monolith

MONOLITH is a front-end interface designed to communicate insights gathered from the sensor technology installed in stores. It combines behavioral and economic factors to provide third level insights needed for effective store management.

Authentiq ID

Authentiq offers a simple way for companies to move beyond passwords. Authentiq is like Stripe for authentication, making authentication delightful for both users and developers.

HENQ Invest

At henQ they get excited by outstanding teams, successful in selling a software product which facilitates the primary processes of other businesses. An initial niche is key: big enough for rapid scaling but small enough to become the worldwide number 1. They will contribute every single bit of their experience, operational excellence and empowerment to make that come true.

Usabilla

Give your users a voice with Usabilla. Improve the performance of your websites, apps or emails with their Voice of Customer solutions.

Casengo

comScore

comScore is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics

PartyWith

Party with a Local is a mobile platform (iOS & Android) that connects people for nightlife with a growing global community (over 140k users – all organic) in over 150 countries.

Springest

Compare and choose from over 22,000 learning products by more than 500 providers.

Olery

Olery. Turn guests into ambassadors. Olery Reputation enables hotels to manage their online reputation and social media presence by monitoring what is being said online, engaging with customers, and measuring satisfaction performance.

GreenHome

GreenHome gives consumer personalized advice on how to make their homes and lives more sustainable. In the Netherlands, residences are responsible for about 20% of the country’s CO2 emissions.

Tech Talent in Amsterdam

There is a lot of tech talent to be found in Amsterdam. The city has drawn a talent pool of more than 250,000 techies, ICT nerds, developers, and experienced tech innovators. In that respect, it is very similar to Silicon Valley. This is not likely to change any time soon.

The city offers an enviable work-life balance, as well as a cool culture and a village-like charm.

The international students in Amsterdam are also encouraged to stick around after they graduate thanks to initiatives like the International Talent Event Amsterdam(ITEA), which matches the city’s international students with suitable jobs.

Amsterdam has done a lot to strengthen its already great homegrown tech talent pool. Coding for Amsterdam is an organization that ensures children in the city’s primary schools are learning coding and other 21st-century tech tools. Similar things are also happening at the city’s elite universities, as well.

The Amsterdam School of Data Science recently opening. It is the product of the collaboration between four major universities and offers over 250 bachelors, masters, postgraduate and professional programs. It works with some of the largest tech companies in Amsterdam and around the world, including Google, Facebook, and Philips.

Tech Development in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is following a similar path to that of Silicon Valley in the 1970s- but for 21st-century tech.  Amsterdam tech companies are leading the pack in the development of tech such as AI, nanotechnology, FinTech, and virtual reality.

A lot of these developments are happening at the incredible Amsterdam Science Park. This area is home to more than 120 businesses and research institutions. It is a 70-hectare science center with an intense focus on cutting edge of science and tech.

Because of this, startup in Amsterdam are thriving. The Amsterdam startup scene received funding of €194m last year – which was76% of the Netherlands’ total startup funding, with tech companies, especially FinTech and MedTech businesses, doing very well indeed.

Amsterdam startup companies are at the forefront of the MadTech industry thanks to the strong business support links found within the city.

Facts About the Amsterdam Startup Scene

People are blunt and direct, resulting in reliable and fairly instant feedback.

The Dutch startup scene is naturally blunt, honest, and direct with this feedback. If you make a product, the Dutch people will let you know right away if they are willing to pay for it or not. This will help keep you from going in the wrong direction with your development process. This is a point made by many startups in Amsterdam over and over again. It is a big benefit of the location.

There is a thriving local investment scene

There is an overall a very lively venture capital scene in Holland. According to the Dutch tech site Startup Juncture, there were 75 venture capital deal in 2014 that amounted to a total of €500 million in investment.

However, know that investors do tend to be fairly conservative. They tend to invest in solid tech efforts like business software with quick returns.

Consumer app propositions are less likely to get funding. The next WhatsApp and Instagram will have more trouble getting funds in Amsterdam than they would in Silicon Valley.

There is a lot of old money

The city’s history as a trading hub and marketplace means that it is not short of some very old money. This means that there are deep reserves of savings and startups in Amsterdam can quickly get started through connections with friends and family in the area.

Ending thoughts on these startups in Amsterdam

Startups in Amsterdam have a bright future to look forward to. If you are looking for jobs or investment opportunities in tech, give consideration to this city.

The post Startups in Amsterdam that you should keep an eye on (and their cool websites) appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing https://www.designyourway.net/blog/web-design/startups-in-amsterdam/

[touristguidebuzz]

Travel to Russia Surges Despite Geopolitical Tension

Tourism to Russia is booming as the country has worked to improve its offerings for travelers. Military aircraft over Moscow during a 2015 celebration. Dmitriy Fomin / Flickr

Skift Take: Russia is experiencing a huge tourism Trump bump, and tour operators are slammed with demand from U.S. travelers.

— Andrew Sheivachman

Greg Tepper typically sends 1,500 travelers to Russia every year. Since he founded his company Exeter International in 1992, he’s been one of the foremost leaders in the United States of luxury travel to Russia. And this has been his best year in a very long time—maybe ever.

“I haven’t seen demand for Russia like this since 1989, which may have been the greatest time ever for Americans in Russia,” he said. “It was perestroika. It was Gorbachev. People wanted to see the place that they kept hearing about.” Now, in the aftermath of a tanking oil industry, the collapse of the ruble, American sanctions, and Trump-driven political scandals, Russia is back in the headlines—and, at least where travel is concerned, back in the money.

According to data from the Moscow branch of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, an advisory firm for hospitality investors, the hotel occupancy figures for the first quarter of 2017 are the highest they’ve been in five years. Tatiana Veller, head of JLL’s Russia group, says the highest gains were posted in the midscale sector, which has added 11 percent to its bottom line so far this year, thanks to a high volume of domestic, leisure, and group travelers.

Tepper’s Florida-based company has posted even more impressive gains. He says its Russia inbound business grew 30 percent from 2015 to 2016, and bookings in 2017 are already on pace to break that record by an additional 12 percent.

Also posting double-digit, year-on-year growth are luxury specialists Ovation Vacations, high-end group tour purveyor Tauck, bespoke outfitter Abercrombie & Kent, and the mass-market behemoth Globus, which, according to the industry publication Travel Pulse, is seeing 38 percent growth in Russia-bound travelers thus far in 2017.

Even airports and airlines are on track to set growth standards. In the first five months of 2017, Russian airlines carried 35.81 million passengers—up 22 percent year on year—according to Federal Air Transport Agency figures, with a record high of 8.672 million arrivals in May alone.

Russians Rediscovering Russia

Russia’s travel spike is the result of a few factors. For several years in a row until the late 2000s, Moscow had been among the top three of the world’s most expensive destinations, explained Veller. “ You could pay $300 or $400 for a Courtyard Marriott.” A luxury hotel could cost you $1,000 a night—that’s the average nightly rate that the general manager of the Park Hyatt Moscow once bragged he’d hit. “Coming back to 2014, prices dropped dramatically,” Veller continued. “Now, for $350 or $400, you can stay at the Ritz-Carlton or sometimes even the Four Seasons.” That added value is what initially catapulted Tepper’s Russia-bound business by 30 percent to 40 percent.

And now, in the aftermath of  U.S. and E.U.-led sanctions , domestic travel inside Russia is experiencing a significant renaissance. “Because of the slightly separatist policies of our government, it has become impossible or undesirable for a lot of government-related workers on a high level to travel outside of the country,” Veller added diplomatically. Those are the people with the most dispensable income, she said, and the ones who would otherwise decamp from Moscow to Greece, Spain, or Turkey in the summertime. Instead they’re heading to Sochi, which is benefiting from what Veller calls a “free captive market,” and traveling domestically within their own countryside.

This isn’t limited to government officials. While Russians have cut their spending on international travel by roughly 30 percent since 2015, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, domestic airport arrivals increased 10 percent in the past year alone. In other words, Russians are rediscovering Russia.

The sanctions that catalyzed Russia’s domestic travel market were largely Obama’s doing. But the spike in American interest? That’s all Trump. Both Tepper and Veller say they’ve seen an anecdotal correlation between the level of Russo-American tensions and the number of U.S. luxury travelers landing in Moscow. “It’s reversed to what would be common logic,” said Veller, “but upscale and upper luxury hotels are looking at a higher share of American guests since the tensions started.”

The Revival Movement

Another way sanctions have benefited Russian travel is by forcing a Russian renaissance. “There’s a new attitude in Russia that says, ‘we don’t really need the West anyway, we can do it all ourselves,’” explained Tepper. “All this stuff you hear from Putin about the decadence of the West being evil, that’s all about turning inward and being a real Russophile.”

Looking inward—and avoiding projects that rely too heavily on international sourcing—has spurred several new tourism attractions that make a trip (or a return visit) worthwhile. In St. Petersburg, New Holland island is a long-abandoned shipyard built by Peter the Great that has reopened this month as an urban entertainment center, complete with food and dining concepts, retail, public parks and playgrounds, and a concert venue. “It’s the hot thing right now in St. Petersburg,” said Tepper.

The Hermitage, also, has recently introduced a new wing in the former General Staff building across the square from the Winter Palace. It houses a collection of large-scale Impressionist paintings that had been held in storage for decades. To take it all in, book into the historic Hotel Astoria, which Tepper calls the best location in town.

In Moscow, the Russian Revival is even more apparent. Such new hotels as the Four Seasons and the recently redone Park Hyatt are popping up. (Tepper prefers the latter, unless you splurge for a room with a view at Four Seasons.) The Bolshoi is fresh off a top-to-bottom, $800 million renovation.

And as part of a massive beautification initiative, a new 32-acre park will soon open next to Red Square, showcasing Mother Russia’s seven climactic zones, from the tundra of Siberia to the steppes of Eurasia. It’s rumored to be among the most expensive parks in the world, with an estimated price tag of nearly half a billion dollars. It’s being designed by Liz Diller and Charles Renfro, the same team that was part of creating New York’s High Line.

A Russian food movement has also taken root, with such places as World’s 50 Best-rated White Rabbit elevating the nation’s cuisine beyond your standard borscht or beef stroganoff. At the steakhouse Voronezh, it means a focus on southern Russian cuts, known for their excellent marbling; at Dr. Zhivago, it means creative twists on the dumplings called pelmini, which are stuffed with locally hunted venison and duck rather than minced beef.

Even Russian embroidery and design are getting a rethink: Tepper sets up guided studio visits with upcoming fashion names such as Natali Leskova and Yulia Zhuravleva, who take their cues from traditional Russian arts and architecture.

It all adds up to a rich cultural experience that cements Russia’s artistic legacy for the 21st century—and it’s as far from the Cold War hangover image as you could possibly imagine.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was written by Nikki Ekstein from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Travel to Russia Surges Despite Geopolitical Tension

Tourism to Russia is booming as the country has worked to improve its offerings for travelers. Military aircraft over Moscow during a 2015 celebration. Dmitriy Fomin / Flickr

Skift Take: Russia is experiencing a huge tourism Trump bump, and tour operators are slammed with demand from U.S. travelers.

— Andrew Sheivachman

Greg Tepper typically sends 1,500 travelers to Russia every year. Since he founded his company Exeter International in 1992, he’s been one of the foremost leaders in the United States of luxury travel to Russia. And this has been his best year in a very long time—maybe ever.

“I haven’t seen demand for Russia like this since 1989, which may have been the greatest time ever for Americans in Russia,” he said. “It was perestroika. It was Gorbachev. People wanted to see the place that they kept hearing about.” Now, in the aftermath of a tanking oil industry, the collapse of the ruble, American sanctions, and Trump-driven political scandals, Russia is back in the headlines—and, at least where travel is concerned, back in the money.

According to data from the Moscow branch of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, an advisory firm for hospitality investors, the hotel occupancy figures for the first quarter of 2017 are the highest they’ve been in five years. Tatiana Veller, head of JLL’s Russia group, says the highest gains were posted in the midscale sector, which has added 11 percent to its bottom line so far this year, thanks to a high volume of domestic, leisure, and group travelers.

Tepper’s Florida-based company has posted even more impressive gains. He says its Russia inbound business grew 30 percent from 2015 to 2016, and bookings in 2017 are already on pace to break that record by an additional 12 percent.

Also posting double-digit, year-on-year growth are luxury specialists Ovation Vacations, high-end group tour purveyor Tauck, bespoke outfitter Abercrombie & Kent, and the mass-market behemoth Globus, which, according to the industry publication Travel Pulse, is seeing 38 percent growth in Russia-bound travelers thus far in 2017.

Even airports and airlines are on track to set growth standards. In the first five months of 2017, Russian airlines carried 35.81 million passengers—up 22 percent year on year—according to Federal Air Transport Agency figures, with a record high of 8.672 million arrivals in May alone.

Russians Rediscovering Russia

Russia’s travel spike is the result of a few factors. For several years in a row until the late 2000s, Moscow had been among the top three of the world’s most expensive destinations, explained Veller. “ You could pay $300 or $400 for a Courtyard Marriott.” A luxury hotel could cost you $1,000 a night—that’s the average nightly rate that the general manager of the Park Hyatt Moscow once bragged he’d hit. “Coming back to 2014, prices dropped dramatically,” Veller continued. “Now, for $350 or $400, you can stay at the Ritz-Carlton or sometimes even the Four Seasons.” That added value is what initially catapulted Tepper’s Russia-bound business by 30 percent to 40 percent.

And now, in the aftermath of  U.S. and E.U.-led sanctions , domestic travel inside Russia is experiencing a significant renaissance. “Because of the slightly separatist policies of our government, it has become impossible or undesirable for a lot of government-related workers on a high level to travel outside of the country,” Veller added diplomatically. Those are the people with the most dispensable income, she said, and the ones who would otherwise decamp from Moscow to Greece, Spain, or Turkey in the summertime. Instead they’re heading to Sochi, which is benefiting from what Veller calls a “free captive market,” and traveling domestically within their own countryside.

This isn’t limited to government officials. While Russians have cut their spending on international travel by roughly 30 percent since 2015, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, domestic airport arrivals increased 10 percent in the past year alone. In other words, Russians are rediscovering Russia.

The sanctions that catalyzed Russia’s domestic travel market were largely Obama’s doing. But the spike in American interest? That’s all Trump. Both Tepper and Veller say they’ve seen an anecdotal correlation between the level of Russo-American tensions and the number of U.S. luxury travelers landing in Moscow. “It’s reversed to what would be common logic,” said Veller, “but upscale and upper luxury hotels are looking at a higher share of American guests since the tensions started.”

The Revival Movement

Another way sanctions have benefited Russian travel is by forcing a Russian renaissance. “There’s a new attitude in Russia that says, ‘we don’t really need the West anyway, we can do it all ourselves,’” explained Tepper. “All this stuff you hear from Putin about the decadence of the West being evil, that’s all about turning inward and being a real Russophile.”

Looking inward—and avoiding projects that rely too heavily on international sourcing—has spurred several new tourism attractions that make a trip (or a return visit) worthwhile. In St. Petersburg, New Holland island is a long-abandoned shipyard built by Peter the Great that has reopened this month as an urban entertainment center, complete with food and dining concepts, retail, public parks and playgrounds, and a concert venue. “It’s the hot thing right now in St. Petersburg,” said Tepper.

The Hermitage, also, has recently introduced a new wing in the former General Staff building across the square from the Winter Palace. It houses a collection of large-scale Impressionist paintings that had been held in storage for decades. To take it all in, book into the historic Hotel Astoria, which Tepper calls the best location in town.

In Moscow, the Russian Revival is even more apparent. Such new hotels as the Four Seasons and the recently redone Park Hyatt are popping up. (Tepper prefers the latter, unless you splurge for a room with a view at Four Seasons.) The Bolshoi is fresh off a top-to-bottom, $800 million renovation.

And as part of a massive beautification initiative, a new 32-acre park will soon open next to Red Square, showcasing Mother Russia’s seven climactic zones, from the tundra of Siberia to the steppes of Eurasia. It’s rumored to be among the most expensive parks in the world, with an estimated price tag of nearly half a billion dollars. It’s being designed by Liz Diller and Charles Renfro, the same team that was part of creating New York’s High Line.

A Russian food movement has also taken root, with such places as World’s 50 Best-rated White Rabbit elevating the nation’s cuisine beyond your standard borscht or beef stroganoff. At the steakhouse Voronezh, it means a focus on southern Russian cuts, known for their excellent marbling; at Dr. Zhivago, it means creative twists on the dumplings called pelmini, which are stuffed with locally hunted venison and duck rather than minced beef.

Even Russian embroidery and design are getting a rethink: Tepper sets up guided studio visits with upcoming fashion names such as Natali Leskova and Yulia Zhuravleva, who take their cues from traditional Russian arts and architecture.

It all adds up to a rich cultural experience that cements Russia’s artistic legacy for the 21st century—and it’s as far from the Cold War hangover image as you could possibly imagine.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was written by Nikki Ekstein from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.