February 06, 2014
SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Olympic fans of the world, where are you?
Sochi is (more or less) ready for you to come to its Winter Games. Thousands of athletes, soldiers, journalists and herds of smiley volunteers are in place, eager to help. So far, though, it seems like the only spectators milling about are Russian.
Dina Kobolenko is waiting for you at her tourist information stand near the Sochi train station, armed with maps of this subtropical resort on the Black Sea. She says that as of two days before the Games, she'd seen only a single foreigner — a South Korean. They couldn't understand each other, though, so had to communicate in sign language.
Fears about terrorism and the hassle of reaching Sochi from points abroad may be keeping some foreigners away — and undermining Vladimir Putin's plans to transform Sochi into a magnet for international tourism.
A train traveling between Olympic sites and downtown Sochi cheerily announces to visitors in English: "We wish you a pleasant journey!" But on a recent ride, its seats were half empty. And a sweep through four train cars found ... not a single foreign fan.
Associated Press reporters will be filing dispatches about happenings in and around Sochi during the 2014 Winter Games.
SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Olympic fans of the world, where are you?
Sochi is (more or less) ready for you to come to its Winter Games. Thousands of athletes, soldiers, journalists and herds of smiley volunteers are in place, eager to help. So far, though, it seems like the only spectators milling about are Russian.
Dina Kobolenko is waiting for you at her tourist information stand near the Sochi train station, armed with maps of this subtropical resort on the Black Sea. She says that as of two days before the Games, she'd seen only a single foreigner — a South Korean. They couldn't understand each other, though, so had to communicate in sign language.
Fears about terrorism and the hassle of reaching Sochi from points abroad may be keeping some foreigners away — and undermining Vladimir Putin's plans to transform Sochi into a magnet for international tourism.
A train traveling between Olympic sites and downtown Sochi cheerily announces to visitors in English: "We wish you a pleasant journey!" But on a recent ride, its seats were half empty. And a sweep through four train cars found ... not a single foreign fan.
Associated Press reporters will be filing dispatches about happenings in and around Sochi during the 2014 Winter Games.
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