Sochi: Worst Olympics Travel Destination Ever?

It’s a nightmare to get there. Hotels aren’t ready for guests. The visa alone costs over $200 if you want it processed in a reasonable time frame. When you get there, don’t expect to be able to ski. Then there’s the risk of terrorism. No wonder so few foreigners are bothering to go to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

CoSport, the official seller of Olympics travel packages for residents in the U.S. and seven other countries, says that it has “experienced demand at expected levels” for the games kicking off this week in Sochi. The private company declined to offer any specifics in terms of number of bookings or inquiries from American travelers, however, and wouldn’t say how interest in Sochi compares to previous games. “It is hard to compare the U.S. fan attendance at Vancouver and Nagano or even Torino,” a spokesman stated via email.

Other agencies promoting Olympics packages give the straightforward analysis that the Sochi games are a disaster, at least in terms of generating interest among vacationers. “This is definitely, from a travel perspective, a low point in terms of a Winter Olympics that I’ve seen in the 20-plus years I’ve been doing it.” Robert Tuchman, president of the New York-based Goviva travel firm, told Businessweek.

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