Oleg Melnik became the head of the Management Company of the United Network of TBG and Hot Tours on August 1, 2018. Svetlana Makarova, who has headed the Management Company since 2006, is leaving her post due to the happy event of becoming a mother soon and wants to fully devote herself to devote oneself to one's family.
Svetlana announced the upcoming changes at a meeting of the United Network's Active Members on July 23, introducing the new director. Responding to agency questions about whether the network's established traditions, positioning, and core development strategy would be maintained, Oleg assured that the Management Company would continue on its current course, and that changes would only be for the better.
Oleg Melnik has been in the tourism industry since 1992. His professional experience spans various sectors, including working for a host company, managing accommodation facilities in Russia and abroad, tour operating, and working with retail travel agents. Over the years, he has successfully established himself in both outbound and domestic tourism.
He began his career in Cyprus, where he studied Hospitality Management at the American Hotel Association Graduate School. While studying, he managed the department for welcoming tourists from Russia, the Baltics, and Israel at Groutas Tours, a major travel company.
The knowledge, professional skills, and connections accumulated over a five-year period allowed him to successfully develop his own tour operator business in Russia.
Founded by Oleg Melnik, and managed for eight years, Universal Travel consolidated flights, managed hotels in Cyprus, and provided comprehensive travel services. It collaborated with leading Russian travel agencies. Over time, the company expanded its range of destinations, adding the UAE, Israel, Tunisia, and Greece. It also developed its own network of retail sales offices under the Universal Travel brand.
The next stage of his career involved working with the Israeli holding company Afi Hotels (the Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn chain in Israel), where Oleg Melnik was invited to serve as Regional Director for Russia and the CIS. He spent seven years with the company. His primary focus was promoting Israeli hotels among tour operators and travel agencies, increasing brand awareness, and developing special partnership terms for Russian partners.
While at Afi Hotels, Oleg was also responsible for the development of hotel and resort projects in Moscow and the Stavropol Krai. One of his successful startups was a chain of resorts under the Plaza brand. The resorts achieved breakeven within five years, gained widespread brand recognition, and achieved an average annual occupancy rate of 851,000 guests. The project remains an example of a successful business model in the industry.
During the project's implementation, Plaza worked closely with domestic tour operators and the retail segment, which focuses on domestic destinations.
The work done was recognized by the Russian authorities, and Oleg Melnik himself was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation for his contribution to the development of domestic tourism and fruitful, conscientious work, dated December 27, 2010, No. 185.
In 2012, Oleg Melnik joined ICS Travel Group as Director of Strategic Development. There, he oversaw the company's sales offices in the regions, developed regional programs, and built the tour operator's relationships with leading Russian retailers.
In 2014, he received an offer to head the Russian Railways sanatorium network (21 sanatoriums) at JSC RZD-Zdorovye. His responsibilities included enhancing the commercial appeal of the state-owned infrastructure, increasing the efficiency of accommodation facilities, and implementing modern technologies.
Source: trn-news.ru