Business at Sochi
Dr Naveen Rao, CEO, Sentro Group, finds the resort city of Sochi, Russia, apt for the meetings industry
Isaw the lovely side of resort city Sochi during a Fam trip in May 2016. Best known for being the destination for Winter Olympics 2014, it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the black sea is on the north coast, making it the second longest city in the world after Mexico City. A river runs through and the 50,000 acres of forests give it one of the purest environments. During my earlier visit in 2006, the city was undergoing a facelift. As the preparations for the Winter Olympics 2014 were in full swing, Mr. Vladimir Putin’s government was creating the best to showcase to the world. Between the private community and the government, around US$800 billion were spent on building the infrastructure.
BUSINESS GOES ON
Since then, the city has become a tourist’s delight. Three exotic mountain resorts were developed in many hectares of land. These luxurious places were connected with 22 mountain ropeways. With the rise in infrastructure for Olympics, a large number of four and five star properties were also constructed in Sochi. These serve the MICE community with approximately up to 40,000 rooms and have ballrooms as big as 4,000 square feet, catering to a whopping 1,000 people in a single event. If one is staying in a mountain resort they can enjoy a ropeway ride free of charge all day. The 20-minute ride is peace inducing and soothing as one is surrounded by the greenery of the mountains. Gazing at the huge, sky touching trees is euphoric.
LOVE FOR SPORTS
Sochi is also a sports lovers’ paradise. Sochi Olympic Park is a major attraction as it was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Sochi also has a good Formula 1 track where you can enjoy a taxi race ride like never before and leave with a mindblowing experience. The stadium named Fisht
The large number of four and five star properties can serve the MICE community with approximately up to 40,000 rooms and have ballrooms as big as 4,000 square feet, catering to a whopping 1,000 people in a single event