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Cruise links between Black Sea resorts discussed in Sochi

3 October 2018

Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation Georgy Bryusov recently attended a meeting with Mayor of Sochi Anatoly Pakhomov and leading figures of city administrations located on the Black Sea, including the Bulgarian resort of Varna and several cities in Turkey. Bryusov spoke on the potential provided by the Russian Investment Forum to promote regions and event tourism.

The meeting, which took place at the Russian International Olympic University, focused on the organization of regular cruise links between Black Sea resorts, and developing associated products for the tourist industry. According to the Parliamentary Assembly of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), resorts in the region welcome 129 million international tourists per year (making up 10% of the European market) spending USD 65 billion. Those attending the meeting expressed the belief that launching cruise links will help expand the tourist potential of all resorts involved.

“We have agreed at this meeting to establish two working groups. One of these will include tour operators from Sochi (and Russia as a whole), Turkey, and Bulgaria, with Georgian tour operators joining at a later stage. The other group will be made up of heads of sea ports. We have seen the interest from Turkey and Bulgaria. There is the desire to work and collaborate, but the need to work out the details of the most important aspects is a huge one,” said Pakhomov. Cemal Ozturk, Head of the PABSEC Turkish delegation, commented that Turkish tourists already had a strong desire to visit Sochi. “The Black Sea is a region of friendship, which is why it is crucial to strengthen relations between ports in terms of tourism and trade. We must prepare a legal framework which will allow the ports of cities on the Black Sea to expand their cooperation,” he said.

Notably, in preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics, an international passenger and cruise centre was established at Sochi sea port, and eight sea terminals were built alongside a yacht marina. Today, Sochi’s sea port can accommodate two ocean liners of up to 300 metres in length, ferries of up to 240 metres in length, and up to 200 yachts.

Also attending the business event was Mayor of Nagato Kurao Ōnishi. The previous day, Pakhomov and Ōnishi signed a cooperation agreement between the cities of Sochi and Nagato. Discussions between the two covered a wide range of areas, including sharing experience in education, improving urban amenities, and waste recycling.

The Russian Investment Forum is set to take place on 14–15 February 2019 in Sochi. The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

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