The 2012 London Olympics unexpectedly caused a sharp decline in the number of Russians willing to travel to England. Tour operators and airline representatives drew attention to the fact that during the Games, the number of tourists planning to travel to the UK fell by about half compared to the average level, but many Russians began to purchase plane tickets in advance to travel to England after the Olympic Games.
The reluctance of Russians to attend the London Olympics unpleasantly surprised representatives of travel agencies and airlines. Having estimated the number of Russians who attended other major events in Europe, including Euro 2012, they hoped for big profits, but their hopes were not justified. Moreover, even of that relatively small number of people who go to England for the games, most of them are directly related to the organization of the Olympics, i.e. formally he cannot but go there.
One of the problems that prevented the Russians from going to the 2012 Olympics in London was the difficulty in obtaining visas. Firstly, in order to be able to go to the Games, applications had to be submitted at least 3-4 weeks before the start of the Olympics, while there was a possibility that they would not be accepted and tickets would have to be returned. Secondly, the registration procedure itself turned out to be unusually complicated: everyone who wanted to get a visa had to personally go to the visa center or the British Consulate in the capital, and for residents of the regions this is associated with huge additional waste of time and money.
Another, no less significant problem is the incredibly high cost of travel to the Olympics. Prices have increased 2-3 times, so everyone who wants to see the Olympic Games in London would have to pay about 150-200 thousand rubles just for accommodation. At the same time, a huge amount would have to be paid for a visa, insurance, a ticket to the Games, etc. The incredibly high cost of the trip scared off the Russians, and some people decided to postpone their visit to London until the end of the Olympic Games and until prices return to their previous level.
And finally, there is another reason why the Russians reacted coldly to the trip to the London Olympics. The fact is that this event was organized after the much more popular Euro 2012. Those who went to the World Cup had no more time, energy or money for another event of the same scale. And ordinary tourists knew very well that due to the overly strict safety rules during the London Olympics, it would be very difficult even to admire the sights, not to mention ordering excursions.
