Investors appear interested in online listings services in Russia. For instance, TravelRent, which is believed to be Russia’s first online service for short-term apartment rentals, recently raised $2 million from Frontier Ventures – a venture capital fund.

The money will be used for employee expenses, new partnership programs, and marketing the brand to increase the number of online listings, according to a company press release.

TravelRent says it plans to increase the number of listings in Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States, and elsewhere to 45,000 in 2013. TravelRent predicts it will have over 5 million registered users by 2015.

TravelRent service and the online travel sector in Russia will increase by 40 percent and be valued at $6 billion during this year, according to industry sources. PhoCusWright – a firm specializing in analysis of travel, tourism and hospitality sectors – predicts that 2013 Internet sales in Russia will total about $10.4 billion. The firm also predicts one in five travel bookings will be made online.

“Online booking is the fastest growing sector in the tourism market,” TravelRent’s CEO Stanislav Frolov said in a recent statement. “Travelers looking for the best deals are now going online and creating a new trend of independent do-it-yourself tourism. Today, TravelRent has the largest number of listings for short-term rentals in the Russian Internet. With the new funds we have raised, we are determined to secure our leadership in the sector.”

In addition, Dmitry Alimov, founder and managing partner of Frontier Ventures, added his firm is “very pleased to be expanding our investment portfolio with a company operating in the rapidly-growing market of apartment rentals. Our partnership is more than just equity financing. Our experience in business and in building innovative Internet projects, in determining a strategy and adapting it for the Russian-speaking market, means we can provide the company with comprehensive support and strengthen TravelRent’s position as the leader of this rapidly-growing sector.”

As of March 2012, Frontier Ventures had a $50 million venture fund, according to a report from AltAssets.

In a related matter, TMCnet reported earlier this year that booking travel arrangements online will continue worldwide in 2012 - particularly in China, India and Brazil. The share of the online segment compared to the total travel market was predicted to jump almost a third globally – according to data from yStats.com.

In 2011, the value of the online travel market in the United States was higher than that of the market in Great Britain, China, India and Brazil combined, yStats.com adds.

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