Tour operators don't rush to bet on sport events in Russia

Online booking system Oktogo.ru named the most attractive Russian destinations for sports fans this summer. The list includes: Moscow, Sochi, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ryazan, Perm, Anapa, and Uglich. Kazan that is to host the 27th Summer Universiade turned out to be an undisputable leader. The event will be held on July 6-17; over 10 thousand athletes from all over the world will be competing for 350 sets of medals in 27 sports.

Moscow will host two major events this year. The Rugby-7 World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium will be held in late June. The competition is taking place every four years and welcomes 24 men and 16 women teams. The event's organizers are planning to attract more spectators by affordable tickets - the price starts at just 150 roubles (€3.6). Another event is a prestigious track and field world championship scheduled for 10-18 August.

Sochi is getting ready for the 2014 Olympics by hosting a series of over 20 international test events in 15 Olympic and 5 Paralympic disciplines.

Foreign tourists may also be interested in visiting the International University Sailing Cup in Moscow Region, Urbanathlon in Saint Petersburg, The Meschera Rogaining in Yekaterinburg, The Night Walk in Ryazan, The Celestial Fair Festival in Kungur, Perm Region and the Ouglich Mile cycling festival. The sports summer begins with the Russian Football Cup Final between Moscow CSKA and Makhachkala Anzhi on June 1 in Grozny.

However, claims the travel business, all these events have little to do with organized tourism. First of all, says Director General of the Roza Vetrov Company, Mr. Sergey Zenkin, the Russians have distinct interest in just three sports: football, ice hockey, and biathlon. Not only do the fans travel in Russian and abroad a lot, they also gladly use the services of tour operators specializing in sport tourism. Tennis tournaments and Formula-1 races have their “wandering” fans, too. All other sports attract barely any tourists.

“And it’s about lack of interest in sport events. It’s more about lack of promotion of these events through tour operators, even though it’s a common practice elsewhere,” Mr. Zenkin pointed out. As an example he mentioned the Kazan Universiade, for which his company had prepared special railroad itineraries. “We proposed it to various youth associations but unfortunately there have been almost no interest from them. From other tourists we had just a few requests, too.” Besides that, the company failed to accommodate a group of tourists in one hotel as the bulk of Kazan’s hotel base have been given to sportsmen while tourists have to settle for the leftovers.

As for the Sochi Olympics, the tour operators do not expect much from it, too. In fact, the Russian travel sector has been deprived of the opportunity to form complete itineraries to the Games. In order to sell such packages an operator must undergo an accreditation at the National Olympic Committee. But even in this case they can’t sell tickets for the sport events, which can only be bought by visitors in person upon presentation of an ID. The only authorized seller of the Olympic tours is an American company Jet Set Sports. In early May it opened online sales of the tours, the price of which caught everybody by surprise – 260-300 thousand roubles (around €6-7 thousand) per person, and that not including airfare to Moscow, railroad ticket to Sochi and transfers. “This way, I’m afraid, the Sochi Olympics are to repeat the “success” of the Games in London, where the stands were half-empty,” Sergey Zenkin concluded.

On the other hand, Mr. Sergey Voytovich, the Director General of the Svoy-TT company, reports the demand for the Rugby-7 World Cup and the Track and Field World Championship. Tourists from England, Australia and New Zealand express interest in attending these events. However, he adds, the complicated visa application procedure remains a serious barrier for foreign sports fans.

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