Hosting the modern Olympic Games is an event of colossal scale, complexity and investment. Therefore, it is not surprising that some Russian citizens still doubt whether it was worth fighting for the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Say, considerations of prestige were hardly worth it to go to huge expenses that are unlikely to pay off. But are their doubts justified, and how, for example, will the Olympic Games affect the infrastructure of this Black Sea resort city?
What changes have already taken place in the infrastructure
As you know, the great writer Gogol considered bad roads to be one of the two main troubles of Russia. At this time, both in the resort town itself and in its environs, the state of the road network is very good. Since 2008, when Sochi won the right to host the Olympics, almost 260 kilometers of new roads have been built and old roads have been repaired. In addition, convenient interchanges have been built. Thus, one of the main problems - transport, hindering the development of Sochi as a resort, has been resolved.
A large number of new hotels, restaurants, shopping centers have been built in the city. New residential neighborhoods have been built. Underground passages and staircases in many administrative and residential buildings were equipped with convenient ramps to make them accessible to people with disabilities. New parks, squares, flower beds have appeared. The city has become more beautiful and comfortable. Of course, such a large-scale construction was fraught with certain inconveniences, but the townspeople treated this with understanding.
As a result, the number of tourists visiting Sochi has noticeably increased. But every vacationer spends money at the resort, some of which remains in the local budget.
What changes should be expected after the Olympic Games in Sochi
There are examples of how hosting the Olympic Games in a particular city helped it become a major tourist destination and increase income. And this, accordingly, leads to further improvement of its infrastructure. For example, after the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona has become one of the most popular cities in terms of tourism.
There are, however, examples of a different kind, for example, Montreal or Sydney. If the Russian leadership and local authorities manage to increase the prestige, popularity and investment attractiveness of both the country as a whole and this resort city with the help of the Sochi Olympics, it can be assumed that the colossal efforts and costs were not in vain.
