The Black Sea coastal Russian city of Sochi stands ready to share its experience of hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics with Beijing, which has recently won the bid to host the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
"It's our pleasure to share our experience with Beijing. This will be useful for Chinese organizers. We would also like to invite Chinese athletes to train at our sporting facilities," Julia Malorodnaya, deputy chief of Sochi's Resort and Tourism Department, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
The 22nd Winter Olympics Games held in Sochi in February 2014 has dramatically improved the living conditions and promoted all-round development in Russia's only subtropical resort, said Malorodnaya.
According to Malorodnaya, preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games have brought Sochi residents new transportation, hospitals and communal infrastructure, as well as high-class sporting facilities.
"During the Games, the city added 24,000 new hotel beds which can now be used by tourists from around the world," she added.
Olympics heritage enables Sochi to become an attractive place for international forums, ranging from sports and cultural to business, with over 180 events taking place here last year, the official said.
In October, Sochi will host another economic forum to discuss new investment projects, she noted.
The number of tourists from Russia and abroad to visit Sochi has increased significantly, Malorodnaya said, adding that many of them came here for sheer curiosity: to have a look at the "new" Sochi.
Post-Olympics Sochi features impeccable roads, jam-free traffic, renovated houses and brand new healthcare facilities, which has improved the social well-being of local residents and made visitors' trips here more comfortable and pleasant, she said.
Sochi has become especially popular among tourists from Iran, Israel and China, she said, noting that the city is working on opening more direct commercial flights to and from Chinese destinations.
Domestic and foreign investors also see huge opportunities in the resort city.
"Investors keep coming even after the Games. Now, we encourage them to invest in not only tourism infrastructure but also logistic hubs, the agricultural sector and sea ports," Malorodnaya explained.
