A special deal has been negotiated with Hotel "Tavricheskaya" for this conference: For conference participants full accommodation (four nights) will be offered for a total of 120 Euro (limited availability).

Additionally, the following hotels are located in close reach of the conference venue

• Hotel "Rus'"
• Hotel "Marshall"
• Mini-hotel BVH
• Mini-hotel "Austrian yard"
• Grand hotel "Emerald"
• Hotel "Nordic"

If you require further assistance concerning your accommodation, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

St. Petersburg can be easily reached by plane to the international airport St. Petersburg / Pulkovo. From there you might continue your travel by minibus and subway, or by taxi.

The WISHES Conference and Users’ Meeting 2011 are hosted by the Saint Petersburg State University of Service and Economy. Venue of the event will be the main building of the Saint Petersburg State University of Service and Economy, centrally situated in the city of St. Petersburg (see map).

Please pay particular attention to the following information:

• The deadline for the registration to the WISHES Conference and Users’ Meeting 2011 is the 15th of March 2011
• Please book your accommodation as soon as possible
• Make sure that you bring enough visitcards to our meeting
• The emergency conference phone is: 0049-171-8579768

The WISHES Conference and Users’ Meeting 2011 offers a Social Programme during the last day of the conference. The last day will be dedicated to a full day guided tour to discover and enjoy the beauty of the world famous palace and park of Petergof (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhof_Palace).

The WISHES Conference and Users’ Meeting 2011 offers plenty of promotional opportunities to its participants:

• Online presentation and promotion within WISHES portal.
• Matching and recommendation of participants
• Networking fair to present institutions and offers in-depth

St. Petersburrg is located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. As the second largest city in Russia St. Petersburg is home for over 4,5 mio inhabitants. Having been Russia's political and cultural centre for 200 years, the city is sometimes referred to in Russia as the Northern Capital. Saint Petersburg has plenty of impressive spots to offer: For instance the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site and with the Hermitage the largest art museum in the entire world is located right in the city’s center. Over its history it has also been referenced as "Venice of the North”, "New Rome", "Second Paris", or "Russian Athens". Average temperature in May is about 17 C. (Further information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg)

Russia officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation is a state in northern Eurasia. At 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 142 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 9 time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Its currency is Russian rubles. (Further information about Russia see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia)

Please inquire with your Russian embassy if you required a visa to enter the Russian Federation. Please note, to speed up the visa procedures the Saint Petersburg State University of Service and Economy as the host of the WISHES Conference 2011 is entitled to issue official invitation letters. Therefore, please get in touch with us as early as possible in case you would like to receive such invitation letter (ir_spbsuse@mail.ru)

A list of all participant of WISHES Conference 2011 will be made available to participants on site.

The WISHES Conference and Users’ Meeting 2011 are initiated within the Erasmus Mundus Action 4 Project WISHES and are organized with the support of the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Union.

In case you have any further questions, we are ready to answer them:

• Maria Nesterova, Head of Conference Organizing Committee, ir_spbsuse@mail.ru
• Henry Wolf, WISHES Project Coordinator, info@eu-wishes.eu
• Martin Kramer, WISHES Project Coordinator, support@eu-wishes.eu