Why U.S. Travel Media Won’t Tell People to Visit Russia
Photo Credit: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyani (center) rode to mark the launch of a city bike program in 2013. Moscow Department for Transport and Road Infrastructure
Skift Take
Travel is supposed to be the grand connector. Yet, whether consciously or not, the travel publishing world seems to be failing to seize a moment to champion what it always has championed — that travel helps reduce prejudice, bias, and bigotry.
Russia’s been in the news a lot lately —just not the travel news.
Normally, year-end “best of” annual travel lists – like Lonely Planet’s enduring Best in Travel series or the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go – give extra weight to destinations celebrating big anniversaries or hosting major world events. Both put Canada’s 150th birthday at No.1 in 2017, for instance, and each had Winter Olympics-host South Korea’s Winter Olympics in their list this year.
But in 2018, Russia is not getting love from publishers, which comes as a surprise since so much has been happening there. In 2014, Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics, and 2016 marked the centennial of the iconic Trans-Siberian Railway. In addition, this year 11 Russian cities are set to host the World Cup.
Yet none of eight major U.S.-based travel publishers Skift surveyed (see chart) picked Russia as a go-to place in 2018. And in 2014, during the Olympics, only two of eight —National Geographic Traveler a
