Interview With Igor Rodionov, the Vice President of the RAAPA
  Michelle Mak / Jasmin Zhuang
  This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, as well as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia. As one of the most important roles in China's "The Belt and Road" initiative, Russia has reached many cooperative agreements with China and both have established a close and solid international strategic cooperation framework. Against such an international background, the GTI Organizing Committee specially interviewed with the Vice President of the Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (RAAPA), Igor Rodionov, who attended the GTI Asia China Expo for the first time. The two sides reached consensus on promoting the exchange and cooperation in the entertainment industry between China and Russia.

Q: Is this your first time to China? Have you been to other exhibitions in China?
A: No, I have been to China twice for work and once for vacation in Sanya, Hainan Province.

Q: What do you think after visiting GTI Asia China Expo? Which part impresses you most?
A: Actually, the first time I attended GTI Expo was when it was held in Taipei 4 years ago. Last year, I also participated in Zhongshan International Games & Amusement Fair 2019. However, this year, I was very honored to be invited to participate in the GTI Asia China Expo in Guangzhou. From my view, GTI Asia China Expo is the largest exhibition among these three events, and also has the most variety of exhibits. It is an excellent expo in this industry. Moreover, I like the fact that GTI is capable of bringing together peers from all over the world and exhibitors from home and abroad.

Q: GTI expects the members of RAAPA to visit and exchange in GTI Asia China Expo. In order to build a platform for Chinese and Russian manufacturers, will you consider organizing them to come to visit?
A: Of course, because I like the Chinese market very much. Chinese manufacturing is very strong and has a great influence on our country.

Q: The GDP of Russia has been on the rise over the past two years. Does the economic growth promote people's consumption of games and entertainment?
A: The rise of the overall national economy will promote the consumption ability of various industries, and the future of the game and entertainment industry is getting better and better. Therefore, people's spending power must also be on the rise.

Q: RAAPA was founded in 1995 and has been established for 24 years. As a well-known association representing the interests of CIS countries, what are your views about the development trend of the game industry in Russia and neighboring countries?
A: In Russia, there are still very few amusement places, but the expansion has been gradually planned to increase the investment in this project. For example, most of the equipment of games and entertainment in Kazakhstan comes from China, and several small neighboring countries tend to purchase China-made products.

Q: Could you talk about the past three years and estimate the future development trend?
A: There has been outstanding products at any time period, but they were embodied in another form in the past. In the future, there also will be new products to guide the industry forward.

Q: In the next three years, will the state and government departments have any new policies on games and entertainment? What advice do you have for future entrants to the Russian market?
A: In this exhibition, a few products are not allowed in Russia. For example, players put money into some redemption machines without any benefits are regarded as gambling behavior in Russia. Some large equipment such as merry-go-round, children's climbing, rope equipment, climbing equipment, obstacle overcoming and other sports entertainment products are very popular in Russia. The second is VR products. These two products are quite popular in Russia, as well as amusement facilities.

Q: Next year, GTI Asia China Expo will be held on September 9-11. Could you express your expectation and suggestions for us?
A: GTI put together an amazing exhibition. I didn't even think it would reach such a high level. Therefore, I hope that GTI can continue to work in the same spirit. Also, the GTI team gets better and better.

About RAAPA
Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (RAAPA), established in 1995, at present represents the interests of more than 250 manufacturing companies, parks, FECs and other amusement industry enterprises of Russia, CIS countries and foreign countries. The main trends of RAAPA activity:
•Organizing and holding of annual international trade shows “Amusement Rides and Entertainment Equipment”
•Organizing and holding of international conferences and seminars, devoted to questions on the development of the Russian amusement industry and the safety of amusement equipment
•Participation in the development of government draft regulations in the sphere of state policy on the organization of public leisure and also cooperation with local authorities on issues of public leisure
•Training and certification of amusement industry personnel at the RAAPA Education Center
•Publication of a special informational-advertising magazine "Attractions and Entertainments"
•Development and implementation of standards and other normative documentation for providing safety of amusement rides’ visitors and the manufacture of entertainment equipment

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 182 in December 2019