Russia needs to ensure it has the right policies in place to make the most of the tourism legacy presented by the Sochi Olympic Games, World Travel and Tourism Council president David Scowsill said.
Scowsill argued that Russia needs to have a high-quality product to appeal to the international visitor.
“There is no point hosting a prestige event, at a cost of US$50 billion, if the standard of hotels and ease of travel around the country isn’t in step,” he said.
“In Sochi, for example, some of the feedback has been that hotels have not been fully ready, hotel rates have been steep and there have been problems with services such as internet access. They need to get the product right, going forward.”
Scowsill went on to say it’s also important that Russia makes it as easy as possible for international visitors to come to the country for a short amount of time.
“Russia has been making some strides at improving its visa processes recently. But its visa application processes can still be lengthy and burdensome; for example, group applications are not considered,” he said.
“To get to the Games, Russia’s security agencies issued special passports to all spectators to filter out potential terrorists. We hope that these policies have not put potential tourists off visiting Russia or restricted the number of spectators at the games.”
In 2011, Russia’s new federal tourism development programme was created to improve the image of Russia as a tourism destination, promote the national tourism product, stimulate foreign investment in the Russian tourism infrastructure and increase the competitiveness of the Russian tourism industry.
In 2009, a law was passed that made it possible for visitors arriving by cruise ship or ferry to stay in Russia for up to three days without a visa.
Russia has also recently cancelled visa requirements between itself and South Korea.