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WELCOME TO SOCHI you're our guest


- 145 kilometres of coastline,

- founded about 160 years ago,

- 4000 square kilometres of hinterland, designated as a biodiversity reserve,

- about 400,000 inhabitants,

- the only specially designated tourism zone in Russia,

- unique variations in climates from the subtropical coast up into the alpine zone of mountains,

- mineral curative waters,

- location on the Black Sea, in the shadow of the Caucasus Mountains,

- enormous gardens and grand architecture from the turn of the century,

- outstanding Soviet planning and construction.

Welcome to Sochi pages! We are happy to introduce to you the arrogance, cordiality and splendour of our city. Sochi has always wanted to be all things to all people, and a surprising amount of time it has succeeded. It has always been a city of recreatio n and health, and the rush was always to the new, large, the prosperous, the fashionable. It is no longer to say that Sochi is the city of handsome spas and exotic parks, or eve n that it is the city of ethnic diversity and amazing landscapes. The city is really a scene for changes, as it takes on a different character for each of its guests and residents, and what it does that no other spa destination can do is provide them with choice: a combination of beach holidays with recreation and treatment at natural springs, or a possibility to ski in the mountains only 50 km away from the centre - make the glory of our city. It is the place where culture is not merely consumed but m anufactured by different nationalities.

Such vast size - Sochi is a big resort area stretching for 145 km along the Black Sea coast - means that the city can embrace everything, and it often does. Sochi's natural resources - the beautiful scenery of the sea and the mountains, the mild climate, the curative waters, together with the rich diversity of national cultures, traditions and cuisines, and the infrastructure into which the state lavishly con tributed from its budgets of the 30-es, 50-es - 80-es, have determined for Sochi a leading position among the recreational and health resort regions of Russia. There are 58 rivers running into the sea in Sochi, they are famous for trout and the Black Sea salmon. Some of the waterfalls, caves and lakes can be e asily reached, though they have not yet become as known to tourists as the century-old Sochi Arboretum (2 thousand species of trees) or the primeval Yew and Box-wood Grove (300 ha) with some trees over 1000 years old. The city's proximity to the Black Sea moderates the climate, so Sochi is the only area in Russia, where tea, persimmons, pomegranates and citrus fruits are grown. There are few snowfalls and the snow does not stay in the city, the average temperature in the city is 8-10C in winter; and the tem perature rarely rises above 30C in summer. There are 2250 hours of sunshine a year, which is more than in Mediterranean Riviera. In tourism terms, it means that people can enjoy the beach and the mountains, with their lush, almost virgin forests -- and e ven skiing for eight months of the year -- on the same day.

For decades our city has been called the capital of Russian resorts. Palace-like structures bewilder the guests, they hardly believe that the city was born a century ago out of just a number of small settlements scattered in the wild forests along the co ast. Sochi architectural ensemble was constructed in the 30-es and the 50-es to the design of the best Soviet architects, who chose the Roman and Gothic details both for ecclesiastical significa nce and for formal appeal. In the "golden" 1970-es and 80-es the resort used to operate in summer, in autumn, in winter and in spring, providing health care with the local curative water. The tourists had to book accommodation well in advance, because ne arly 5 mln people came here annualy. Sochi was characterised by the concept of tourism as an activity organised for social goals along corporative lines: health tourism to Sochi before 1990-es was up to 70% covered by Trade Unions as an incentive for thei r members. Since a "resort" has been defined in Russia as a place primarily for health treatment rather than leisure, the hospitals, sanatoria and balnearia have always been the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. There were created 20 specialised medical and research centres in Sochi, that lead in the development of balneotherapy by the curative climate, by physical exercises on the beach and in the mountains, but mainly - by baths of the local water and muds. Over 50 spas are profiled in their appli ca tion of treatment methods, accordingly they provide treatment against different types of health problems: from nervous and cardio-vascular - to skin problems. The spas have always been advanced in their diagnostic and medical treatment equipment, special attention has always been given to promoting healthy ways of life and healthy eating habits, but the spas are different from hospitals in terms of the patients' freedoms and arrangements for leisure activities. The great majority of people who visited Sochi during the Soviet years justified their visit primarily as a way to improve their health. In this, Sochi's tourism was more like Western European spas of the 19th Century.

The new age of tourism is starting in Russia yet in the end of 1990-es, as human resource issues are being tackled. The first Tourism Institute in Russia was created in Sochi in 1989, and since then it has been upgraded to the Sochi University for Tourism and Recreation. The recently founded Sochi Business School linked to the International University (the Sochi branch of the Moscow International University) are also working on aspects of tourism, notably on organising convention and meeting tourism. Sochi, because of its high quality mineral waters and spa treatments, has a very la rge number of medical doctors, many specialised in treatments related to ageing. Through collaboration with the universities and with the researchers at the Research Institute of Balneology, the medical staffs at the various facilities are beginning to wo rk out how they will make the transition from working in a public context to a private one. Sochi Polytechnicum graduates working in the hospitality services and food areas will have to provide international levels of service, while retaining and building u p on the attractiveness of the national traditions and cuisines. Fortunately, there is excellent cooperation between the city leaders, the universities, and the tourism sector, which makes it possible for effecting these changes with local resources.

Someone would say, that the present economic and political situation in Russia is not to the benefit of tourism. Indeed, there has been a considerable drop in the number of guests of Sochi since 1991. However the city preserves its ambitions and develops its infrastructure, improves professionalism of service providers, maintains new routes, supports its foreign links, and still receives over 1 mln guests a year. As an essential element of Sochi's strategic vision for tourism development, it will be im po rtant to develop a process that is supported by the local population for deciding what to keep and what to change. This is fundamental for all aspects of Sochi's tourism development -- natural and built -- since Sochi has not in the past been subjected to Western style development pressures. Sochi will benefit from outside views in this process, since many other places face similar issues, although usually not so dramatically, and also because one aspect to consider is what attracts foreign tourists.The present market of Sochi is the domestic one - potentially one of the biggest in the world, though it's viability depends on people's income and ability to travel without risk. As the reforms go on, there will be the time for Sochi to regain its leading p osition in the world's resort business and to win prizes for ecological sustainability.

The Sochi pages is one of the first initiative to present our area in the English language among other electronic destinations. This is the joint enthusiastic effort of Sochi students, teachers, businesses and administration, who contributed information, ideas and pictures. The core team of the site developers is learning by working on the site construction. The idea of launching this site was introduced by the Sustainable Tourism Development Associates, Spain, and encouraged by the developing projects of the Black Sea Tourism Education Network and the Black Sea Tourism Information Network. Participation in the ENTER - 98, ENTER -99 conferences, consultations wi th experts on the conceptual development of the site, and analysis of other tourism destinations' experience in electronic promotion - resulted in our current choice: the site is not a commercial agency, it's not an online booking facility. It's, rather, an electronic guide to the Russian Black Sea coast. However, if you are looking for business contacts, reservation or detailed information, we'll be happy to assist you in finding what you need on our coast.

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